


The Slayer and the Beast

by CSLong



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Buffy the Vampire Slayer-Star Wars AU, Demon Kylo Ren, F/M, Finn is a warlock, Hell-God Snoke, M/M, Modern AU, Poor Kylo is a big fluffy puppy with no teeth, Shamelessly combing BtVS with Star Wars, Sith are Demons, Slayer Rey, So are Jedi, Watcher Luke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-05-26 05:44:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14994050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSLong/pseuds/CSLong
Summary: The Star Wars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU that no one asked for.Rey is a slayer, navigating life with a job with a pretty short self-life can be hard! But when you have a Watcher like Luke, a fearless band of Avengers, including a warlock, ex-military, and a genius, you live a little longer int the Slayer business. But when a displaced half-demon, half-human Kylo Ren is forced back to earth, things get a little more complicated.





	1. Chapter 1: Souls are Itchy

France, 1482

 

Leia’s feet were beginning to tingle with numbness as she sunk into the snow. She couldn’t stop for long, but her lungs felt like they were on fire. She pressed her back into the stone wall. She could hear angry shouting in the distance.  She closed her eyes and she could see their drawn swords and the flaming torches.  The Romani had never been in good standing with the local authorities, and she, less than any. Too rebellious, too uppity and too curious.

She held tighter to the bundle in her arms muttering as quietly as she could.

She looked up again at the frost covered road that cut through the small village. She wasn’t far. She could do this. She continued to slink along the side of the homes and shops, knowing that should they see her, she would never be able to outrun them.

She inhaled, the cold air burning its way down her throat.

She didn’t think that word would get out so quickly, rumors had always circled around her and her family, but this was the first time they had closed in on her to the point of a sword.  Leia looked up into the night sky, behind the haze of frost, the stars almost looked like crystals.

Leia peeked around one of the shops and across the road. She could see it from here. All she had to do was make it to the distinctly marked red and black door.  It held her salvation, her one hope of being able to save him. She gave the bundle in her arms a little bob, securing it against her breast.  She closed her eyes and said a prayer to any god who cared to listen to a desperate young woman.

She breathed in one more breathe and took off at a sprint, her feet slapping against the cold, wet snow.  She could hear horses in the distance, she could all but feel the heat from their torches. She threw herself against the door and flung it open, and then slammed it shut behind her.

Her eyes remained squeezed shut, as she pressed her back into the door, attempting to get her bearing.  She looked around the dark shop, completely empty and dark. And then back at the infant in her arms, who was now beginning to wiggle against the blanket wrapped tightly around him.

“Shhh,” she cooed, pressing a kiss to the full head of thick black hair. “Ssh…It’s all right Ben.”

Ben’s eyes didn’t open, but his chubby arms stretched out from the blanket, his hands closed into tiny fists.  Leia couldn’t help but smile down at the child.  Only 4 months old but still so full of personality and even power…like his father. Leia’s heart constricted at the thought of her lost love and now…Leia shook her head and slowly stood.

No time for self-pity.

Leia slowly crossed the room, toward the green rug.  She had been told what to do back when the arrangements were made. She rolled the rug back and pulled up on the basement door.

Leia knew she couldn’t turn back now. She had waited if she could, soaking in every moment with Ben that she could. She knew she had likely waited much longer than she should have, but the thought of parting with him had broken her heart so.  But now she knew what she had to do. She had to protect him. With a creak she lifted the door, releasing a billowing green smoke from the basement.  Leia descended the steps slowly.

“Mother Talzin,” she called.

Leia squinted through the haze of green smoke and saw Mother Talzin’s distinct silhouette in the darkness, clothed in her signature headdress.   She was hard to miss, after all, a local legend shrouded in mystery and magic, vilified by the religious leaders, but she moved in freedom, to fierce and powerful to be touched.

“My dear,” she said. “I am so glad that you could make it.”

“Yes,” said Leia. “It was close.”

Talzin slowly turned. Leia was powerful in her own right and had even been invited to join the Nightsisters coven, but Talzin still intimidating her none the less. Talzin glided toward her, and Leia instinctively held Ben closer to her, a shiver running down her spine. Talzin gazed down at her, her face covered in white and black, her traditional décor for a ritual. Her pale blue eyes went from Leia and down to Ben.

“Is this…”

Leia nodded hurriedly as tears stung her eyes.

“You’re certain…you’re certain that this will work,” chocked Leia.

Talzin nodded and brought her long fingers up toward Ben, gently touching his cheek.

“Yes,” she said. “The Book of Shadows has deep magicked. But…” Talzin held up a finger and looked at the young mother.  “This spell has its limits.  It will protect the child from those who seek it, until there arises someone strong enough to protect him here on earth. When that person comes, the child will come back to earth, his true and complete nature fully revealed.” Leia nodded. “But we must make haste…”

Leia nodded and looked down against at her son. Her impossible miracle.

“My sweet boy,” she whispered into his hair.  “I hope one day you’ll know how deeply I have loved you.”  Tears streaked her face. Slowly, Ben began to stir awake under her kisses. His eyelids fluttered, revealing the ruby red eyes and thin black slits of pupils. Upon seeing his mother, the baby smiled, his lips pulling back to show two pointed fangs. Leia did not recoil, this was the face that she loved.

Han’s face.

The face of a baby she had carried in her womb. The pregnancy she survived only thanks to magic.  She had almost died bringing her son into the world, and whatever else he was, he was her baby.

Talzin held out her hands. Leia let out a strangled sob and pressed another kiss to Ben’s forehead before grudgingly handing the baby over to her.

As Ben passed from one to the other, he let out a cry of protests. Leia shuddered as his whimpers turned into keening wales.  Leia felt as though her heart were shattering into pieces. She had lost Han and now her only piece of Han she had left. She wouldn’t be able to see who Ben would grow up to be. And now he may never have the chance to do the things that she had dreamed for him; to love, to have a family, to experience humanity.  But none of that mattered, not if it wasn’t safe for him.

She could hear Ben screaming for her.  It was all she could do not to snatch him back up, to give in to her worst and most selfish instincts. But she resisted.  Mother Talzin knelt and placed Ben on the floor, surrounded by 7 stones.  She heard Talzin cooing gently to Ben, and then Talzin reached into her cloak and produced a jagged dagger. Leia inhaled sharply.

Before she could do anything, Talzin pressed the tip to Ben’s forehead and quickly slashed it across his tender flesh, leaving a long angry scar across his face.  Leia let out a sob but Talzin held up her hand to silence her.

“Calm yourself,” she warned, looking up at Leia from her still crouched position. “It’s necessary for the enchantment.”

Leia retracted her outstretched arm. Talzin took the edge of the knife, now dripping with her son’s blood, and flicked it over Ben, splattering the floor and the stones. As soon as the drops fell, the green light intensified. Leia looked around as an unearthly voice filled the space of the basement- speaking a language she didn’t know.  She let out a cry of surprise when smoke rose from the lights, long tendrils grasping at her son.

Talzin was still on her knees, now outside the perimeter, muttering in the same language that Leia heard being whispered all around her. Leia looked around frantically trying to place the source but there was none to be found.

When she looked back at Ben she let out a cry. His eyes were still flaming red, but his fangs had grown longer.  His thick black hair now surrounded two protruding, curling horns, and his skin began to shimmer with black scales.   But even with his changed form, Leia could tell that it was still Ben.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

The last thing she heard was his cry and then a flash of light enveloped Ben and suddenly, the basement was dark again, leaving just her and Mother Talzin.  Leia could no longer hold back the desperate sob.  The stones sat unremarkably on the ground and Ben…Ben was gone.

She had done it. And the cost was almost more than she could bare.

He was gone, somewhere no one could reach him. Somewhere she would never be able to follow. Her arms were now empty.  Her cradle would no longer hold her precious boy, and her house would never be filled with his cries and his laughter.

Leia slowly collected herself off the floor and made her way to the stairs, not bothering to speak to Mother Talzin.  She should thank her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She couldn’t bring herself to speak at all as she moved numbly.

She would tell everyone he had died, as so many babies in the village did. They would say they were sorry and offer to pray for her, but she knew they would all take a deep breathe, a sigh of relief when the news spread; the bastard, born of a witch, rumored to be inhuman, would no longer plague them. They would have to find something else to blame all their misfortunes on.

Leia stepped out into the night and shut the door behind her, hugging herself tightly.

“My sweet Ben,” she whispered, clutching the golden dice that hung around her neck. “Please be safe.”

*******

Back inside, in a store with harmless trinkets and carvings, Mother Talzin knelt before the alter, the Book of Shadows opened before her.

“My dark lord,” she whispered. “Everything is set in motion. He who is both human and demon will grow and will one day return to the mortal realm. And that…that will be the dawn of the New Order.”

*************

“The FUCK was that…”

Rey shot up in bed, tangled in her sweaty bed sheets. She whipped around frantically, clutching the wooden stake that had been hidden under her pillow.  She squinted into the darkness, her slayer sense was going crazy.

She squinted suspiciously into the darkness.

…Nothing.

She reached over to her cellphone and looked at the time; 5:17 am. She let out an exasperated sigh and laid her head back down on her pillow.   Behind her eyes lids she saw her again; the beautiful woman, eyes filled with resolve and sadness.  She could hear the woman’s cries, mingling with the cries of a child.

It was the same dream, every night, for the past few months. And every time when she awoke, she could barely remember it. She heard cries, saw green light, and a malicious grin.  But none of it made any sense, none of it fit together.

She sat up again and looked out the window. It was still dark out, but not for long. Soon the L.A traffic would start. She stretched upward, cracking her shoulders and back.

Who needed roosters to welcome the sun when you could get car horns, shouting and swearing?

She yawned loudly and placed her feet on the floor, expecting the now familiar creak of the floor below her. She stood and knelt, pawing through the pile of clothes on the floor.

“Okay,” she muttered. “Which pile was…” she sniffed one. “The clean one.” She shrugged and pulled on one of the T-shirts before standing up again. She walked out of her room, into her still dark apartment. It was a small one, just her room, a small space that could be considered a “living room” and a kitchen. It wasn’t much, but it was all she needed.

She crossed toward the kitchenette, her eyes darting around the small space.  Her instincts were still screaming, telling her that something was wrong, that she wasn’t alone, that she was, most certainly being watched.

“Hmmm,” she muttered.  She turned toward her cabinet and reached up, grabbing the box of cereal. She felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

A vampire? No.

A demon? No. It didn’t feel demonish.

A…

Rey whipped around holding out her box of cereal just in time for it to catch a flying knife.  Rey glared at the knife protruding from the box of cereal, and then turned her death glare into the darkness of her living room.

“Goddammit, Luke,” she scolded, jerking the knife out of the cardboard and pointing it toward the shadows. “Come out you troll!”

She heard a familiar chuckle. The man was impressive, she had to admit. In his sixties and still as sleuthy as ever. Luke emerged from the darkness, all impish smiles and mischief.

‘You know Luke,” she said, still gesturing toward him with the pointed end of the knife. “It’s shenanigans like this that got you kick out of the watcher’s counsel,” she threw the knife back at him. Luke caught it easily and pocketed it with a shrug.

“I think that has lot more to do with an unruly slayer than anything else.”

“Oh please,” said Rey.  “I am a fucking delight and maybe if…”

Rey’s face suddenly went ashen as she held up her box of cereal. She reached in and poked her finger through the large hole and wiggled it accusingly at Luke. “Luke you ruined by Cookie-O’s!”

Luke raised an eyebrow.

“You shouldn’t be eating that junk anyway,” he said reprovingly. “It will kill you.”

Rey laughed and jumped up, so she sat on the countertop, digging her hand into the box and grabbing a handful of the dry cereal.

“Nah,” she said, popping some in her mouth. “Slayer metabolism, love.”

Luke’s face scrunched in disgust as the crumbs spewed from her mouth.

“Charming.”

“’Sides,” said Rey through a mouthful of cookie. “Death by sugar would be preferable to the fate of most Slayer’s, right?’

Luke didn’t respond. Rey knew, despite the way he teased, that this was touchy subject.  Among many reasons Luke didn’t quite belong with the Watcher’s counsel, was the fact that he never cared to master the “no attachments” rule that most Watcher’s lived by.  Rey knew why it was a rule. The Watcher-Slayer relationship was so transitory, boundaries needed to be kept. But, on the other hand, that never would have worked for Rey, the attachment-starved street rat that she was when her powers manifested. 

But joking about death didn’t mean much to Rey. She had once been certain she wouldn’t live past thirteen, and now, here she was, nineteen with superpower’s. Still alive and eating her fill of sugary cookie-based cereals in her very own apartment nestled above the Skywalker Gym.

“Why are you awake anyway,” asked Luke.  “Usually I have to come drag your ass out of bed to come open the gym.”

Rey shook her box and reached in again.

“I had that dream again.”

Luke walked toward her, jumping up and sitting next to her on the counter. He reached into the box and helped himself to a handful of cereal.

“The one with the baby crying?”

Rey nodded and sighed, laying her head on Luke’s shoulder.

“And the mother,” she said. “She’s just so sad. I can feel it so strongly. Her heart aches and my heart aches.  But she also has to…she has to let her baby go…”

“Rey,” said Luke. “You know so little about your past.  Do you think it could be…”?

Rey shook her head fervently.

“I wish,” she said. “I wish I thought it was my own mother. I like to think that it was hard for her to abandon me at a fire station. But…this…it feels different. Like she’s crying out for…me. Like she wants me to help her. I don’t know. I know it sounds stupid I just have this feeling…” she sat up again and threw a cookie in the air, catching it in her mouth. She turned and looked at Luke, a shit-eating grin on her face. “But hey what do I know? Maybe it’s just that slayer savior-complex flaring up.”

Luke looked at her intently, not distracted by her dismissiveness. “It’s not stupid Rey,” he said. “You need to listen to your instincts. The Slayer is such a mystery, even to this day. What your connected to and how it connects is a mystery, despite the Watcher’s best efforts to unravel it.”

Rey let out a small laugh and looked at him sheepishly.

“Sorry I got you kicked out.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “I was borderline a long time before you came around.  The Council thinks they can own the power of the Slavery, control it and manipulate it and understand it.  It’s hubris, and until they realize that without the Slayer they are just a bunch of old men getting paid to sit on their assess and do research that any 16-year-old with a library card and internet access could do, I have no desire to be counted among their number.”

Rey threw her head back and laughed.

“Yeah you don’t sound bitter at all, Skywalker.”

“Well,” said Luke. “Of course, I’m bitter! Just because I don’t want to play doesn’t mean I wanted to be told I couldn’t play.”

Rey nodded and reached back into the box only for Luke to jerk it away.

“Hey!”

“Nope,” he said standing to his feet. “You’ve had enough, and I can’t have you puking five minutes into your training.”

Rey glowered at Luke as she slid off the counter.

“Two times, Luke,” she said, holding up two fingers. “Two times that happened and of those times I had been bitten by some vertigo-inducing swamp creature.”

“And the other,” asked Luke, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Rey’s glower gave way to a sheepish shrug.

“It was Finn’s birthday…”

“Uh huh…”

“How was I supposed to know that red velvet cake and vodka didn’t mix…”

“Mmmhmmm…”

Luke turned and walked toward the stairs that descended to the gym below them.

“I was an orphan,” she called out after him. “I never tasted such sweet confections as red velvet cake!”

“Be down in five minutes, Rey,” he called back from the darkness.

“You’re a monster!”

“Five minutes!”

 “I want my Cookie-O’s!”

“Have an apple!” Rey rolled her eyes and waited until she was certain he was gone.

“Have an apple,” she mimicked. “Have an apple, Rey while I take off with your delicious, sugary treats...” she let out a snicker and went on her tiptoes to reach the higher cabinets. “What do you think this is, amateur hour?” Rey felt around until she reached the fresh box of Cookie-O’s.

*************

Kylo Ren appeared in the Sith Citadel e in a puff of black smoke and let out a sigh of relief.  He looked outside the window into the vast sprawling hellscape of Korriban.

It was good to be home.

From the citadel, he could see the sprawling, blood-colored desert. Red was very much a consistent aesthetic of the Sith-Demons, red and black. Not very creative as far as demons go, but still…it was not unpleasant to look at.

He stretched out his arms and shook out his body; traveling between dimensions always made his towering frame feel as thought it were being scrunched into a ball of bone and muscle. He cracked and popped, and then made this way through the quiet citadel. Most of his Sith kin were asleep.  It was a common misconception he encountered that they didn’t need sleep.

An ignorant one. Sure, there were some demons who didn’t need sleep or sustenance, but the Sith were not of that variety.  A lifetime of reeking death, vengeance and discord, not to mention fighting their demonic counterpoints, the Jedi, could take its toll.

How any of his friends had time for a social life was beyond him.

“Well…well…well…” said a voice from somewhere in the small dark hallway. “Look who decided to show up.”

Kylo rolled his eyes and reached up toward the ceiling above him, into the dark shadows. His hands found purchase around a thick, scaly tail and then he jerked down violent.

“Owe…owe…owe,” the voice protested. “Let go, Kylo!”

Kylo snickered as the orange demon fell from it’s hiding place, pressed against the ceiling and into the moonlight in front of him. The lurker looked over his shoulder at his tail, reaching back to rub the base.

“What did you do that for,” he asked.

“You were the one lurking in the shadows like some Shyrack.”

Hux sneered and straightened, glaring up at Kylo with annoyance and anger.

“Where have you been,” he asked.

“You know,” said Kylo with a shrug. “Out…doing…doing demonly things.”

“Uh huh,” said Hux with smirk, though keeping an arms-length away from his nemesis. “Did you write some more very pretty verses to share with us, Kylo?”

Kylo’s red eyes blazed dangerously.

“I told you Hux,” he said, his voice low. “If you tell anyone about that I’ll fry up your testicles and feed them to you.”

Hux flicked his wrist dismissively.

“Oh don’t’ be so melodramatic, Ren. I won’t tell anyone that the Lord of Darkness makes a hobby of practicing calligraphy in his spare time. But…” Hux tapped a long talon against his chin thoughtfully. “You may want to think of upping your game, the demon world is starting to talk.”

Kylo’s eyes narrowed, and his lips curled back to show his gleaming fangs.

“What kind of talk?”

Hux shrugged nonchalantly.

“You know, just gossip around the cauldron. “Ren has lost his edge.” “Ren hasn’t massacred any planets in a hundred years.” “When’s the last time Ren has bathed in the viscera of his enemies?” “Ren’s turning into a big fluffy kitten…” just stuff like…”

Kylo’s long arm shot out, his fingers wrapping around Hux’s throat and lifting him into the air. Hux’s eyes bulged as he clawed at Kylo’s hand.

“Hey…Hey…calm down Ren,” he chocked out. “Don’t strangle the messenger.”

“Perhaps if the messenger wasn’t a crawling bag of sarlac shit he wouldn’t need his head popped like champagne cork!”

All the same, Kylo lowered Hux to the ground. Hux backed away gasping for air.

“I’m just warning you, as a friend” he choked out, glaring wickedly at Kylo.

Kylo scoffed. He and Hux were not friends. They had fought some Jedi together, but they most certainly were not drinking buddies.

“You just should know,” said Hux. “There’s even a rumor that you were the one that set the appetizers free at Phasma’s birthday!”

Kylo sneered contemptuously.

“So what if it was?!”

“Oh Kylo,” said Hux. “We were all so looking forward to the delicacy! Do you know how long it’s been since any of us partook of actual human baby!? That compassion is not befitting a demon of your caliber…”

“It wasn’t compassion,” spat Kylo. “I just prefer we hunt game that can put up a fight! Do you remember what happened to the trolls? They subsisted on a diet of fat babies and look what they turned into…FAT BABIES! You are what you eat, Hux, and I will not allow the mighty Sith legions to become fat, slovenly…”

“Okay…okay…” said Hux holding up his hands in surrender, wisely wishing to remain intact. Soft of not, Kylo Ren was still a powerful demon.

“Just it may be a good time for a massacre, or an attack on a neighboring dimension.”

“Seems like a waste to start another war merely to avoid gossip.”

“See,” said Hux, shaking his head. “The old Kylo Ren wouldn’t even need a reason to…” Hux jerked back as Kylo reached toward him again. “Never mind…never mind…” he said. Hux backed up toward a window and jumped onto the ledge. “I’ll see myself out.” He waved half-heartedly back at Kylo. “See ya around.”  
He leapt out into the night sky, his giant wings bursting from his back, carrying him into the air.

Kylo rolled his eyes and continued toward his quarters.  Hux was rat, and while Kylo did not believe for a moment that Hux had shared this information out of any real concern for him, he still knew that much of what Hux said was true.

While powerful, and bloodthirsty in his own right, Kylo never quite felt as though he were on the same page as his fellow demons. He wanted to conquer, and go to battle, to shed the blood of his enemies, eviscerate the occasional clan…normal demon stuff.

But there was always another part of him, something that the other demons didn’t seem to share. He didn’t want to eat babies, he didn’t want to destroy dimensions just to do it, and he had a difficult time summoning up enthusiasm for chaos for its own sake.

Very undemonly to be sure.

And a waste of a lot of natural talent.

Was it his fault he also had a natural talent for pretty calligraphy, and pranks that make the children laugh in the Reyloth dimension?

He sat on the edge of his bed and rolled his neck out, before laying down with a sigh, a familiar despondency settling over him. 

He wondered if depression was another one of his oddities?

***************

Kylo wasn’t certain how long he had been asleep, all he was certain of is that he was in pain; significant enough to send him shooting up in bed, clutching desperately at his chest.  He was a warrior, a fighter, he had been crushed by troll hammers, infected with poison darts, bit by Hssiss, and lanced by a lightsaber. But this…this pain was different, it pulsed and burned in his chest, originating from inside him, as though something within him was turning in on him.

He looked around the room, gasping for breath in a state of panic; a completely unfamiliar feeling.  He squeezed his eyes shut and saw sad eyes aged by sadness, he could hear a voice in ringing in his ears, and the screams of baby.

He shook his head hard and desperate, kicking the blankets off him, the burning continued to coil in his chest, winding tighter and tighter like a spring preparing to explode.

“Don’t panic.”

Kylo let out a cry and threw himself out of the bed and onto the floor. He leapt up, trying to regain his dignity, but he immediately doubled over in pain again

“Whose there…” he gasped out, his face squeezed in pain as he attempted to bare his teeth threateningly, but he was sure it looked more pathetic than anything else, like a wounded puppy trying to scare away a predator.

The speaker moved out of the shadows toward him and into the light. Kylo’s eyes widened and he held out his hands, the claws lengthening and extending.  He knew who this was, and he wasn’t in a state ot fight…not now.

“Obi-Wan,” he growled.

The Jedi clan were the natural enemies of the Sith clan, demons locked in an eternal struggle for dominance in the universe. Of course, the Jedi fancied themselves “good demons”, claiming that their powers were pulled from the light and not the dark.  And Obi-Wan was an ancient demon, more powerful than any of the other Jedi in existence. And he was not one to be trifled with, but, all the same, it was deeply impolite to sneak into his sleeping quarters in the dead of night.

“There’s no need for that,” said Obi-Wan, waving his hand toward his claws as he made his way toward him, nonchalant. “Besides,” he said. “It wouldn’t work.”

Kylo took in Obi-Wan’s form, noticing the dull, blue haze that surrounded him. Kylo reached out a hand and found that his claws passed right through the space that Obi-Wan semi-occupied.

“What are you doin…” his question died on his lips and he doubled over again under the deep, melting pain. “What…” he breathed deeply…” What…” again…” Are you…” He let out a groan of pain. “Doing here?”

Obi-Wan approached him calmly.

“How are you feeling,” he asked, ignoring the question.

Kylo glared at the man, his hand still splayed across his chest, as if trying to locate the source of the pain.

“If you must know…” he growled. “I am feeling a bit…stingy.”

“Stingy,” repeated Obi-Wan with a nod. “Seems accurate.  Sort of like a limb waking up that has been asleep for too long.”

“I won’t ask you again, Old Jedi,” said Kylo.

“I sensed it,” he said abruptly. “The shift in you.”

“What shif…owe…owe owe! What the devil is this?!”

“You are not as you think you are,” said Obi-Wan, staring intently at him. Kylo growled in frustration.

“If you have nothing else to offer save cryptic warnings then…”

“Oh, you are every bit the pain in the ass your father was,” said Obi-Wan with an amused shake of the head.

This grabbed Kylo’s attention. He knew nothing of his father, or his mother, not an uncommon thing in the demon world, they rarely settled down behind white picket fences and raised a family.  But his was even more shrouded in mystery. No one even knew the name of his father, there existed no proud lineage for him to claim, which meant he had to work twice as hard.

“You…my what?”

“Your father,” said Obi-Wan with a nod. “I knew him for a short time.”

“No Sith-Demon would dare consort with a Jedi.”

Obi-Wan chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed, apparently making his ghostly form right at home. Kylo thought it was odd that he would be able to physically sit anywhere, yet here he was sitting on his bed as though he weren’t an incorporeal intruder.

“Well,” said Obi-Wan. “Let’s just say your father was always a bit of a scoundrel, a powerful demon, not unlike yourself, but he did not play by all the same rules.” He looked at Kylo intently. “Do you even know your father’s name, boy?” Kylo’s eyes narrowed at the dismissive pet name, but he supposed in comparison to someone as ancient as Obi-Wan, he was, indeed, a boy, and right now he felt as thought his heart was being pulled out his throat, so the energy to quip back at him was gone. “His name was Han Solo.   He and I traveled the universe together for some time, exploring every possible dimension, getting into trouble with more than our fair share of demonic and angelic beings alike. And your father…” Obi-Wan looked at Kylo with a particular look of familiarity. “Your father developed a liking for a particular dimension, with a particular planet that housed these tiny, fragile creatures called humans.”

Kylo’s brow furrowed in confusion. Of course, he knew what humans were, their young were a delicacy for many hell-creatures. Not to mention, due to their own lack of magical ability, they often would call upon demons to serve their purposes.  But he was confused about what any of this had to do with what was happening to him.

“Your father,” continued Obi-Wan. “Thought humans were endlessly funny and interesting, and he enjoyed that the odds were rarely in their favor, yet they persistently continued to exist. He was always a bit of a sucker for the underdogs.” Kylo scrunched up his face in disgust, his father sounded like a pathetic demon to be taken so with such unimpressive creatures as humans. “And during his time there, your father fell in love with…with a human woman, named Leia.”

Kylo’s mouth fell open, shocked and appalled. There was no way he could be related to a demon like that, one that would lower himself to the place of a mortal, magicless creatures.

“Don’t look so surprised,” said Obi-Wan. “She was a beautiful woman, strong, clever and tenacious. As impressive of a human as there ever had been. She herself dabbled in the magic arts, but never did quite commit herself to them fully.”

Well, that was something at least, though Kylo. But still, a human witch!? How embarrassing!

“They were very much in love, and during his time on earth, Leia conceived a child.  Han, ever the wandered, couldn’t stay long, and fled earth before the child was born. But by magic, Leia was able to bring the half-human, half-demon child into the universe.”

Kylo was shaking his head, not knowing full well what relevancy this had to what was happening. He couldn’t…he couldn’t be! He was…he was a demon! A demon through and through! There was nothing human about him!

“Leia knew that they would come for you,” said Obi-Wan. “She enlisted my help and the help of a coven of powerful witches to conceal you, knowing that earth would be too dangerous for you as a child.  And so, I brought you here, to Korriban, the home of your father.”

Kylo snarled and moved to show the old demon away, but forgetting what form he was in, Kylo stumbled right through him. He whipped around angrily and glared at Obi-Wan.

“You lie,” he spat. “This is a Jedi mind trick, you have done something to me and now…”

“You can believe that if you want,” said Obi-Wan. “But it will do you no good. The spell that was cast to conceal your human side, to put to sleep your human soul, it is wearing off now.”

“What,” snapped Kylo, his voice raising several more octaves than he thought it could. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, and repeated his question, “What?!”

“The magic was powerful but temporary, meant to hold your humanity at bay until the time when there was a champion on earth, powerful enough to protect you as your mother longed to do. At that point you will return to your true home.”

“This is my home,” bellowed Kylo. But even as he spoke, he saw the dark red skin receding down his forearms, revealing flesh.

“It’s not,” said Obi-Wan. “Your protector has come into power, and you will be called to them.”

“I don’t need a protector,” protested Kylo. “I’m not a child! I want to stay here,” he said, stomping his foot angrily.

“I’m afraid you don’t have the slightest say in it…” said Obi wan. “Your human soul won’t survive here. You can already feel it protesting against this dimension.”

“No…no…no…” said Kylo looking down at his chest. “That’s not…that’s not a soul! Its’ bad bantha meat giving me indigestion!”

“They are bothersome,” said Obi-Wan. “But all the same, it seems you have one.”

Then before Kylo Ren could pose another protest, he was surrounded by a dark, green smoke and then the sensation of being ripped in two and his body sent scattering through time and space.

***********

Surprisingly, there were some downsides to being the Slayer. Sure, superpowers and purpose beat the hell out of Rey’s previous life. All the same, there were certainly some downsides. Like the fact that it took a dangerous amount of alcohol to get her drunk.

However, the same could not be said for her sweet, summer child Rose. She was small…and hot…and had a warmth that just invited people in, so everywhere she went drinks were thrown in her face.  Rey relieved her of some, but not enough to keep her from now wobbling along an ally in her 5 inch heels, leaned heavily against Rey, making drunk professional of love, loyalty, and undying professions of eternal friendship. Those poor boys didn’t realize that one tequila shot too many sent Rose from flirty to sentimental in a moment’s notice.

Not that Rey would let her go home with any of those bozo’s in her current state anyway, and Rose was all too content to sing Rey’s praises to the moon.

“You’re just…you’re just sooo brave,” slurred Rose, her head lulling onto Rey’s shoulder. Rey held the hand draped over her other shoulder. Rose stumbled again, but Rey’s arm was tight around her waist, all but caring her through the dark alley behind Silver.

“Thanks Rose,” she laughed. “You’re brae too…”

“You’re like…like MY HERO,” exclaimed Rose, her voice echoing through the alley, gesturing upward with her free hand.  “The way you just fuck up those vamps, and beasties! You’re just like BAM dust! Bam decapitation! BAM roundhouse kick to the face!”

Rey couldn’t hold back her giggle. Rose was, as a rule, the most brilliant person that Rey knew, and often left Rey in the dust when she would get going on pretty much any conceivable topic.  It was essential to what Rey did, and she would have been dead long ago if not for Rose’s brilliant mind. But it didn’t mean the slightly slowed down, drunk Rose was not a delightful treat.

“And you just…you’re it…” said Rose, doubling over slightly and swaying. “You’re the only one…the ONLY ONE! The last melon!”

Rey snorted and nodded.

“Well that’s just not true,” said Rey. “I have you, and Finn, and Poe, and Luke…”

Rose giggled.

“Your Scooby Gang,” volunteer Rose.

Rey laughed and shook her head.

“Nooo,” she said. “More like Avengers or X-Men.”

“Avengers,” murmured Rose. “I like that…I… I…”

“Oh shit,” muttered Rey, positioning Rose away from and toward the brick wall as Rose expelled the offending alcohol from her body, continuing the glorious tradition of back ally throw-ups had by those who overestimated their capacity to hold their liquor.

“There ya go,” muttered Rey soothingly, holding back Rose’s hair, and rubbing her back. “Get it all out girl…get it all out before the uber get here and charges you $100 per vomit.”

Rose moaned pathetically.

“It’s okay,” said Rey. “We’ll get you home, and into your fuzzy octopus socks and you can…”

Rey didn’t finish her thought, in a moment she was on her feet and whipped around. The hair on her arms was standing up and she could sense a shift in the air.  She reached into her purse, feeling for the smooth, wooden stake that rested there.

But no vampire showed itself.  She squinted into the dark that led out into the still relatively busy streets, it would be a bold move from a creature of the night to attack when the L.A streets were still relatively bustling.

She breathed in and loosened her grip on the stake, only to tighten again when a large crackling ball of light landed in her path. It was small at first, but it slowly expanded outward, shining a brilliant green light.

Rey widened her stance and blocked Rose, who was suddenly slightly perked up, her eyes wide and locked on the scene unfolding before her.

“Rose,” said Rey. “Are you…are you…what is this?”

“Uhh…uh…some kind of teleportation maybe,” said Rose. “Or some trans-dimensional travel.  That’s just usually a little “poof” like a smoke bomb but this…”

Than as thought being vacuumed out of existence, the light collapsed in on itself and with a whoosh it disappeared, sucked into some invisible hole.

“Oh…my…god…” muttered Rose. Rey nodded slowly in affirmation. Laying on the ground just a few feet away, was a massive, and quite naked, man.

“Uh…” Rey tentatively stepped closer. “Hello! Hello! Are you…are you okay?”

“Is he dead,” asked Rose.

Rey shrugged, stepping closer so she was just over the body. She leaned closer to see, and then leapt back in surprise when a groan of pain came up from the body. She recovered quickly and looked down at him again.

“Uh hi…are you…are you lost?

No answer. The man pressed his palm into the ground and pushed himself to his feet. He wobbled a bit, much like a drunk Rose. He leaned heavily against the side of the building, and massaged his forehead with his hands.  The man slowly turned toward them, his head bent down, long shaggy black hair covered his face, and his shoulders seemed to be heaving.

He stepped away from the wall, and Rey immediately looked away, flustered.

Rose, however, stared forward unabashedly.

“Rose,” scolded Rey, bumping her friend and bringing her back to reality. Rey understood, he was impossibly imposing, and built like a brick wall, but it wasn’t the first dick she had seen. Though it was the first one in a long…long…long time.

“Hi,” said Rey, hurriedly looking up to his face. “Are you…are you okay?”

The man’s face twisted from confusion to aggression from behind the curtain of black as he snarled at them. Rey’s hands were in her purse in a moment, gripping her stake hard.

“Hey, Gigantor,” said Rey, her voice louder and more imposing this time. “Can you understand me? Do you speak? I’m just trying to help and you’re being very…”

She didn’t get to finish as he stalked over to them like an angry bull. Rey’s eyes narrowed and she stepped forward to meet his advancement.

“Sir,” she said. “I’m going to have to ask you to calm your tits and…”

He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, yanking her violently.

“Hey,” protested Rey. “What the hell did I just say?”

“Where am I,” he demanded angrily, still looking around the alley, trying to place his location.

Rey jerked away abruptly and straightened her coat.

“You’re on earth, in L.A, in the back alley of Silver, a poorly-kept but wonderfully-priced dancing and drinking establishment.”

He seethed angrily through notably sharp teeth, but Rey was not getting a vampire vibe from this guy. She was, she had to admit, having a hard time placing the exact vibe she was getting from him, but it was certainly not vampire.  Her eyes flicked down to his hands, where he boasted long, sharp fingernails that looked as though they could easily gut her.

Finally, the man’s gaze rested on her, and for the first time she could see the red peering out through the thick hair.

“You’re…you’re a demon,” said Rey.  Something was definitely off, because demon was certainly NOT all she was getting off of this guy. His shoulders squared slightly, and he looked down at her with a smirk.

“So, you’ve heard of me, puny human?”

Rey’s mouth fell open.

“Woa… woa… uncalled for,” said Rey.

“Yeah,” said Rose, still on her knees. “That was really rude, and you’re not the Incredible Hulk so…”

“Silence,” the demon bellowed, crossing his arms across his chest and rising to full height, making Rey blush even more as he unfurled himself. “I am Kylo Ren, a might Sith-Demon and one of the Ruling Generals of Korriban!” He turned his arms so his palms were facing up. “And you will bow before me!”

Rey’s eyes went down to his hands, which were sparking with little orange and black flames.  Rey raised here eyebrow and looked back at his face.

“Look…Kylo, was it?”

“Kylo Ren,” he abruptly corrected, arms still outstretched.

“Right,” said Rey. “Kylo Ren, I am going to stop you right there because I am having a hard time hearing anything you’re saying on account of your free-flapping junk.”

Rose nodded beside her.

“Yeah it’s super distracting.”

“Insolent humans,” he roared. “If you do not kneel in submission, you will kneel in pain.”

He closed his eyes and strained, as though summoning something. Rey looked around her, as the wind began to pick up, the energy once again returning to the air. She looked down at his hands, once again crackling with lightening.  But after just a few seconds, the spark seemed to die and the lightening crackle into death.

Kylo Ren looked down at his hands with such a panic and fear that Rey almost felt sorry for him.

“What… what is happening,” asked Kylo, more to himself than anyone else.  He tried again and still nothing.

“Trouble,” asked Rey, with an amused smile.

“This…this... never happens!”

“That’s what they all say,” said Rey, shaking her head.

“It’s this damnable planet,” spat Kylo Ren, looking around. “It’s interfering with my powers…”

Rey stepped closer to the panicked creature.

“It’s the planet, it’s the temperature, I’ve had too much to drink, trust me Kylo,” said Rey, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve heard them all.”

Then, with lightning speed, Rey brought back her arm and landed it with painful force on Kylo’s jaw, sending him falling to the ground out cold.

“Rose,” said Rey, kneeling down next to the fallen demon. “Call Finn and Poe and ask them to come pick us up.”

Rose nodded as Rey knelt and looked over the unconscious body, giving him the once over. Demons could look human, that wasn’t unusual. But demons had a particular way of breathing, of moving, of carrying about their insides that was usually a dead giveaway, but whoever this Kylo Ren was, he was throwing her through a loop.  Rey gently pushed the hair back from his face, her fingers gently brushing over his eyes, his nose and his scar. She cocked her head to the side, taking him in curiously.

And then she felt a jerk of certainty, sad, brown eyes and a voice crying in the dark, calling for her. Whatever he was, somehow, she knew that he was for her.


	2. Odd Aversion to Nudity

Kylo awoke with a dull ache in his jaw, and the sound of voices hovering above him, worming into his consciousness.

“Poe those shorts look ridiculous,” scolded a voice, Kylo was certain was male.

“It’s not my fault,” protested another voice. “Rey just said “bring clothes”, what Rey did not say is bring clothes that fit the BFG.”

“Oh, come on he’s not that…tall…” said another voice, this one vaguely familiar. Suddenly he remembered and was filled with abject humiliation and rage. He jerked to move but found himself bound to a chair.

He looked down at his constraints. No normal rope could hold him, but he saw quickly this was no normal rope, he was bound by magic, bright and burning against his skin if he attempted to wiggle free.

No matter, he would use his powers of persuasion and seduction too…

“Heeyyy Kylo…” The woman from the alley knelt in front of him.  “You’re awake. Good!”

Kylo bared his teeth angrily, but she didn’t blink.

“You want something to eat? Poe has a stash of Pirouettes somewhere in his apartment….”

“Rey,” said one of the men, Kylo assumed the man she called Poe. He was young, and tall, and quite pleasing to the eye, by human or demon standards. “You can’t go around offering up snacks that aren’t yours!”

The woman, Kylo now knew to be Rey, was another matter. He didn’t like the feel of her; she didn’t tremble, she wasn’t afraid, and she looked him dead in the eye as if he COULDN’T rip her spine out.

“Kylo,” said Rey. “We can let the restraints go if you promise that you won’t hurt…”

“I promise by morning your limbs will be removed from their sockets,” he yelled, pulling hard against his constraints.

“Quiet,” said the dark-skinned male. “We have neighbors, man. They’ll think some freaky shit is going on here.”

“Freaky shit is going on here,” said Poe, crossing his arms and looking at Kylo. “Tell me Rey, why didn’t you just kill this guy as soon as he Terminatored into our realm?”

“What,” asked Rey, brow furrowing in confusion. “What about Terminatored?”

“Like the movie Terminator,” said Poe, with an exasperated sigh. Kylo quite liked the title; he could be the Terminator of this entire dimension as soon as he found a way to release himself from the blasted magical restraints.

Rey turned and looked back at him, still all curiosity and no fear, as though she was certain her spine would remain fully intact.

Kylo Ren had never been so embarrassed in his entire life.

“I didn’t see it,” she said absently.

“What,” asked Poe, his voice high with disbelief. “But it’s literally what happened! Massive man, with swinging schlong pops up in the middle of a dark alley.”

Rey shook her head. “Sorry doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Clearly,” muttered Poe.

“Babe,” said the dark-skinned one, putting a hand on Poe’s shoulder. “Rey and my parents were too busy not being there for us to show us the finer elements of American cinema.”

Poe glared at the man.

“Does the orphan card ever expire?”

“Nope,” said the man, squeezing Poe’s shoulder. “Never.”

Kylo turned back toward Rey who was still looking at him curiously. He glared at her, and then down at his bindings.  He felt magic in them, and magic emanating from the group that surrounded him.

“Who among you is the witch,” he asked, eyes searching the different faces.

“Oh,” said the dark-skinned one, raising a hand and waving it. “That would be me. My name is Finn, and the technical term is warlock but you know…whatever is easiest for you.”

“And what are you,” spat Kylo, looking at the woman who had punched him. “You aren’t human, even in my weakened state a mere human could not have bested me so.”

“Oh that’s sweet,” said Rey, standing to her feet. “But sorry to disappoint you Kylo, I am human through and through.”

“Impossible,” he spat.

Rey laughed and rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “You got me. I am human, but also have bad-ass Slayer powers that helps me do battle again various, ghosts, ghouls and goblins.”

“Nice alliteration…” said Finn with a nod.

“Thank you,” said Rey, not missing a beat, before turning back to Kylo. “Because of my very unique abilities I was able to lay your ass on the ground with a single punch.  But,” she said. “Luke is much better at the whole Slayer bit, so I’m sure you and him can dive deep into slayer lore if you want.” She leaned closer, just a few inches away from his face.  “For my part, I am far more interested in what you are.”

“I am Kylo Ren,” he said. “Sith demon of Korriban…”

“Yeah we got all that back at the ally,” said Rey. “Rose is checking it out. But you’re not a normal demon are you…”

Kylo felt a wave of shame and embarrassment.

“I am a normal demon,” he protested pathetically.

Rey raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe you….Finn…”

The dark-skinned man, Finn, walked over to her, a cautious eye on Kylo.

 _Good_ , thought Kylo. _This Finn is properly frightened by me, I will make his death slightly less painful than the rest._

“Is he gunna bite me,” asked Finn.

“I’ll feast on your entrails you…”

“No,” said Rey shaking her head. “He won’t bite you.”

Finn knelt in front of him and closed his eyes.

“What are you doing, witch?!”

Finn didn’t respond. He raised a hand slowly and pressed it against Kylo’s chest, and lowered his head, as though praying. Kylo balked under the touch but he couldn’t flinch away. Finn’s fingers fanned out across his chest, and he began to mutter something under his breath. Kylo couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he caught the occasional word, and could tell it was an old language, one almost entirely unspoken in the world today.

“What are you…”

And the Kylo felt the sensation of choking, as if there was a vice grip on his heart, squeezing the breath out of him, and then, joining the glow of the bonds around him, a dull white glow began to emanate from somewhere inside his chest.

Kylo’s eyes widened.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered. “There it is.”

“Yup,” said Finn, abruptly pulling away, and just as quickly as it came the light disappeared. “That’s a soul all right.”

Rey nodded, nibbling on her thumbnail thoughtfully.

“Yup,” said Rey. “That’s what I was afraid of.”  Poe looked at her confused. “Well I can’t kill him now.”

“Sure, you can,” said Poe. “He’s still a demon, part demon?”

“Well if there was a way for me to kill the demon part and not the human part I would,” said Rey.

“You couldn’t kill me if you tried,” said Kylo with a smirk.

“Oh what,” said Rey, rolling her head dramatically so she was looking at him. “You going to snarl me to death? Make those cute, tiny sparks come out your fingers again?”

“I wouldn’t test him on that,” called a voice from the other room. Kylo turned toward the young woman who entered the room. He had seen her earlier, now decidedly dressed down, and looking more stable on her feet.  She carried a strange glowing rectangle into the room and was squinting at it.  “Actually, I may stop taunting him in general,” she warned. “The Sith demon are actually legit terrifying.”

Rey pursed her lips in suspicion and looked back at Kylo.

“This guy,” she asked.

“Yes,” said Kylo. “This guy! Go on girl, regale her of my exploits and the breadth of my power.” Rose looked at him for a moment, and then back at Rey.

“Seriously, Rose, this guy,” repeated Rey.

“Apparently,” said the woman called Rose with a shrug. “Sith Demons are extremely aggressive, drawing their power from places of hate and anger and passion.”

Kylo nodded proudly as Rose read from the glowing rectangle.

“They have the power of telekinesis…”

“So, lifting stuff,” said Rey. “Come on every supernatural Tom, Dick and fucking Harry has that one.”

Rose held up a hand.

“They also have powers of persuasion, especially in the case of weak-minded beings, and in some cases they even have the power to affect the mind so greatly as to push some victims into permanent insanity…”

Rey pursed her lips and nodded. “Yeah…Yeah that one’s scary,” said Rey.

“Some have the power of deadly sight, though it’s rare even among the Sith-demons.  If they harness their fury and hatred they can project them thought an intense glare onto a victim which will blister even vaporize extremities.”

“Laser eyes,” said Poe. “So…so he has laser eyes. Great!”

“And he can electrocute us with lighting from his hands and fingers.”

The group stood in silence pondering what they just heard. And Kylo couldn’t help but sit up straighter as they considered his might.

“Okay,” said Finn, breaking the silence. “So, soul aside, we gunna kill him, right?”

Rey turned and looked at Kylo.

“I feel like if he could do any of those things to us, he would’ve already.” Rey knelt down again so she was eye-level with Kylo.  “So why haven’t you, huh? Why haven’t you laser eyed us to death yet?”

Kylo squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. He wasn’t quite sure what the appropriate way forward was.  They were his enemies, clearly. Though they had not killed him yet, despite their chance while he was unconscious. This woman, Rey, had referred to herself as the Slayer, a term he had yet to hear, so she possessed some sort of power, not to mention the warlock, and the woman who held knowledge in her hand on a glowing box. There was power here, and he had to move forward carefully. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea how long he would be stuck here, nor what powers of his had been completely lost or merely compromised.

“I must admit,” he said. “I have not personally come upon a Sith demon with the power of deadly sight, though I have heard of it, so, from that at least, you are safe.”

“And the rest,” said Rey. “Could you use your powers of persuasion on us?”

Kylo raised an eyebrow. “On you,” he said. “No.” He paused and looked at Finn. “Likely not on the witch either.”

“Yessss,” said Finn, pumping his fist victoriously.

“What about the rest? The lightning the telekinesis? What about that?”

“Why would I tell you anything,” growled Kylo. “You’re my enemy.”

“Mmmm are we though,” asked Rey. “So far we’ve been nothing but hospitable and you’ve done nothing but be very rude.”

“I’m a demon,” said Kylo. “Were you expecting pleasant?’

“Well, there are some vampires who are at least polite,” said Rey.

“It’s true,” said Poe. “They try and suck you dry, but there are some who at least try and wine and dine you first.”

“Which is more then I can say for some people,” muttered Finn, looking away pointedly.

Poe turned and glared at the witch. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you think it means,” snapped Finn. “It means that the last time we went out on an actual date was three averted apocalypses ago!”

“Could we not do this now?”

“Fine,” said Finn, holding up his hands. “Fine!”

Kylo regarded the interaction curiously. He was sensing a fair amount of affection between the two men, but they seemed to be fighting too.

Odd.

“So,” said Rey. “I guess you can’t travel across dimensions.”

“For now,” said Kylo.

“What does that mean?”

Kylo wasn’t certain why he was even speaking to her.  Although, she was correct that, for now, he wouldn’t be able to leave unless magicked out by someone else.  And Obi-Wan had suggested that perhaps returning to Korriban while his human side was suddenly out and about could be dangerous. So, for now, he was stuck. And he doubted he would find any other Sith Demons lurking about the planet to ally with.

And aside from all of that, even more disturbing than all of that, he wasn’t sure if he could lie to the woman in front of him. There was some part of him, perhaps this pesky soul, that somehow felt compelled to respond to her.

“I’m…adjusting,” he said.

“To?”

“The soul.”

“Aw,” Rey bobbed there for a moment, still crouched in front of him. “So, it’s new then?”

“From a certain point of view.”

“Well,” said Rey. “Which point of view?”

Kylo glared at her.

“Why would I tell you, Slayer? If you indeed have made a career out of killing the inhuman creatures of the dark, then why would I reveal to you my weaknesses?”

“Well,” said Rey. “Here’s the thing Kylo. I’d prefer not to kill you, and actually, I’m pretty sure I’m fairly certain I am not meant too; I could smell the soul on you the moment I saw you, and I don’t usually make a habit out of killing ensouled creatures.”

“Very generous,” he muttered.

“So, if you tell me a little bit more about yourself then maybe…”

Rey stopped speaking when a door flew open. Kylo turned his head and rolled his eyes an older man entered the room.

 _Perfect_ , another one, he thought to himself. _An even bigger audience for my humiliation._

“Luke,” said Rey, standing up and beckoning him over. “Glad to see you could join us.”

“I was asleep,” he muttered, walking over to her. “I’m not like you damn kids who can stay up until all hours of the night and then sleep all day.”

“Oh, stop your grousing, old man,” she said. “Kylo here has got to have a couple hundred years on you and he’s wide awake.”

Luke turned and fixed his aged glance on Kylo.  Kylo snarled, he didn’t care for the look of this one

“What do we got?”

“Demon,” said Rose. “A Sith-Demon, apparently.”

“Hmmm,” said Luke, bending forward and examining Kylo as though he were a specimen he was about to dissect. Rey examined similarly but with some more akin to recognition in her eye. “I’ve never seen one before.” Luke reached out a hand to touch Kylo’s hair.

“Luke,” snapped Rey. “That’s rude! Don’t manhandle him.”

“Rude,” snapped Luke. “You kill his kind on the regular, I don’t think you’re allowed to give lectures on undead etiquette.”

“Not undead,” said Kylo.

“Yes,” said Luke. “My apologies! Has the Slayer of all things dark and evil made out a bed for you, offered you tea and crumpets, because apparently that’s her new thing.”

Rey rolled her eyes.

“He has a soul, Luke,” she said.

Luke’s eyes widened and he turned again toward Kylo.

“A soul…” he said.

“Yes, a soul,” said Kylo, his voice rising in frustration. “I have a soul, I apparently had a human mother at one point, and now I am stranded on your Sith-forsaken planet with nothing but an ill-fitting pair of shorts, and my powers barely intact. So yes, Slayer, go ahead and kill me, stuff me, mount me on the wall, because anything would be better than listening to the lot of you prattle a second longer.”

“Mmmhmm,” muttered Rose. “I’d mount him on my….”

“Rose,” snapped Finn.

“What,” she said, dismissively. “He’s a demon! He just said “prattle”, he doesn’t know our young people vernacular, I doubt Luke even knows…”

“I do,” said Luke absently, but still looking at Kylo thoughtfully, his bearded chin in his hand.

Rey stood next to Luke.

“I don’t think I should kill him,” said Rey softly. Luke continued to stare down Kylo.

“Why is that?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“I would like one.”

“He’s half human,” said Rey, softly. “He hasn’t really done anything yet except threaten us. And…”

Kylo didn’t care for this one bit, they spoke about him, in front of him, all without asking him what he thought of the situation.  To be fair, he would have killed him by now if he was in their place.

“I just…I have a feeling like I’m not supposed to, like I found him for a reason.”

“He’s not a stray dog,” said Luke. “He’s a dangerous demon.”

“Yes I am,” said Kylo.

“You,” said Rey, holding out a finger toward him. “Don’t get to talk right now.”  She looked back at Luke, her arms crossed over her chest. “I can’t explain it Luke,” she said. “But I really can’t kill him.”

Oh, for the love of all things unholy, thought Kylo, realization suddenly dawning on him in the most cruel fashion. Magic, and the universe, it seemed had a twisted since of humor. This child, was supposed to be HIS champion, someone strong enough to protect him? The one the magic had brought him back for, the one his…his _mother_ had called upon?

Now he _really_ wanted to die.

“Well,” said Finn. “I’ll do it.”

Luke pointed at Finn and gave Rey a look. “See problem solved!”

“No,” said Rey. “Sorry, I don’t think I can actually let any of you kill him.”

“Okay Rey,” said Poe, stepping forward and putting his hands on her shoulder. “Look we’ve all been there.”

“Been, where,” she asked slowly, a sort of warning in her tone that Kylo did not miss. This Poe ought to tread carefully over his next words.

“You know,” said Poe. “Under the thrall of some dark-side, angsty bad-boy, with offbeat but lovely, red eyes, remember when we fought Dracula and he made Finn his butt-monkey?”

Rose let out a bark of a laughter but stopped when Finn glared at her.

“Poe,” said Rey. “I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“I’m saying he’s hot,” said Poe, gesturing toward Kylo. “I bet he even writes really angsty poetry about how no one understands him.  But that doesn’t mean you need to give up your life-long journey of destroying evil.”

“Poe that’s not what this is,” said Luke, then turned his gaze on Rey questioningly before adding, “Is it?”

“No,” she all but shouted, throwing up her hands angrily. “That is not with this is. This is my Slayer senses telling me that we don’t need to kill him.”

“Convenient that your Slayer senses didn’t tell you that about that demon from Dagaboh…”

“Ooh the swamp thing that smelled like ass,” said Rose. “Yeah that was nasty.”

“Everyone quiet,” said Rey. “I am pulling Slayer rank here.”

“Is that a thing,” asked Finn.

“No,” said Poe. “She’s making it up as she goes.”

Rey continued without responding. “I am not killing Kylo Ren. It’s just not going to happen.”

“Someone should,” Kylo muttered dejectedly from his seat.

“Talk again, and you’re going down for another nap,” said Rey, closing her eyes and squeezing her forehead, as if trying to beat back a rising pain.

“So, then what are we going to do,” asked Luke. “Keep him in a cage?”

“No.”

“Then what Little Miss “I’m Pulling Slayer Rank”,” Luke pressed.

Rey let out a growl of frustration and smacked Kylo in the face, hard, provoking oohs of pain from the room.

“Hey,” said Kylo. “That hurt!”

“Yeah,” said Rey. “I promise you it doesn’t hurt as bad as this pain in my ass!”

Kylo leaned forward, but didn’t fight too hard against his bindings, knowing full well what would happen if he did.

“Well perhaps you should see a medicine man about that,” he said. “It could become serious.”

“See,” said Rose. “He’s old, he doesn’t get colorful metaphors.”

“Look,” said Rey, through gritted teeth. “You are going to start talking.”

“Or what,” said Kylo. “You already said you wouldn’t kill me perhaps you shouldn’t…”

Rey brought her fist hard against his jaw again, sending the chair flying back, and Kylo with it. Rey straddled him and grabbed his ear and pulled him back up into a sitting position.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to manhandle,” said Luke.

Rey ignored him and glared at Kylo, who was smirking at her, enjoying the sensation of her rising anger. It filled the room, in the same way the rage or aggression of a demon gave them power.

“Start talking,” she growled, her green eyes blazing brilliantly.

Kylo sighed. At this point there wasn’t much use in fighting with her, especially if he wanted out of these restraints.

“Fine,” he said. “As you all have deduced I have a soul. I am also part human, all facts that I have been blissfully unaware of for the past 500 years. Apparently, the world was unsafe for little half-human, half-demon children at the time, so my mother magicked me out of the world and into the world of my father, Korriban. The magic hid my human self and placed my soul in some form of hibernation, so that I could survive on Korriban, but it seems as though the magic was only temporary.  When my mother’s home was deemed safe enough to return, then I would return in my true form.”

“Fascinating,” said Luke. “Your mother must have been a very powerful witch.”

“I wouldn’t know,” said Kylo. “Apparently she needed the help of some coven.” Rey looked over at Rose who was listening thoughtfully, taking in all the information. Despite, Finn’s skills as a witch, and her own as a Slayer, Rose knew more about the supernatural world than any one of them. “And now here I am, safe and sound on earth, and the first thing that happens is I am leashed like a dog.”

“And you’re stuck,” said Rey. “You’re quite certain you can’t return to your own dimension?”

Kylo snorted. “Of course, I’m stuck, had I been able to cross dimensionally travel I would have.”

“But you do still have some of your powers,” asked Luke. “You are part demon after all.”

“Yes,” said Kylo. “Though I’m not certain to their nature yet. I don’t know if they are merely temporarily compromised due to my altered state, or if I have lost them all together. But my understanding is even if I could return to Korriban, I can’t, because my newly awakened human soul would reject it, it’s built for true Sith-Demons.”

Rey nodded.

“But with the right magic you could go back,” said Rey.

“I would assume so.”

Rey turned and faced her friends. “Guys huddle up.”

The group moved out of hearing distance for Kylo, though he craned his neck and strained to hear their hushed tones.

He hears mumbles, grumbles, one would occasionally look up at him and then duck their heads back into the huddle, occasionally accentuated with the sounds of “What?!” from Finn or a “Are you kidding me?!” from Luke.  Kylo was curious to see what they would decided to do with him. Killing him, for some odd reason, seemed off the table, though from his brief interaction it seemed something that the Slayer was supposed to do.  But they couldn’t very well unleash him upon the world.  If he couldn’t return to Korriban he would just make this new planet his own Korriban, assuming his powers ever got passed pathetic and into reasonably scary territory.

At this point he was just ready to be able to move his arms again, and get out of the uncomfortably tight clothing around him.  In Korriban, no one wore clothes, it wasn’t necessary.  But apparently something had been offensive and disorienting about that state here on earth.

Obi-Wan was right, they were an odd and funny species.

Finally, Rey returned her disgruntled looking band in tow.

“Okay, Kylo Ren,” said Rey. “I want to make a deal with you.”

Kylo raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, a deal,” said Poe, turning his incredulous gaze on her. “A literal deal with the devil. She has gone in the span of moments from Rey the Slayer to Rey the Faustian bargain maker.”

“We are willing to let you free, IF,” she said, stressing the if harshly. “If you remain with us and under our watch.”

Kylo opened his mouth to interrupt but she pressed her fingers together in a silencing motion. “If you agree to this, Finn and Rose will attempt to discover what magic was used to get you to your dimension in the first place and attempt to see if it can be replicated.”

Kylo squinted at them suspiciously.

“Do you think you are able to do that?”

“If we get more information from you,” said Rose. “Maybe.”

“But I’m still a newbie,” said Finn. “I am not making any promises about being able to actually do the spell.”

Rey looked pointedly at Kylo. “But that’s the best you’re going to get Kylo Ren.  You don’t leave my sight without my permission, you don’t do anything demonly while you’re here, unless I give the okay. If you can do that we may find a way to get you back to your home.”

Kylo looked at Rey intently. Was it worth it? The chance of going home, of returning to his former self? All he had to do was allow himself to be leashed for a short time, adjust to a life on earth for a bit, and he could, maybe return home.

It galled him to have to be lapdog to this motley crew, but there was no clear and better alternative before his eyes. He needed people who knew this planet, and he doubted he would do much better. He would, he purposed, keep the fact that it seemed this Slayer was mean to be his protector, to himself for now.

He nodded, slowly.

“Fine, Slayer,” he said. “We have a deal.”

Rey nodded, her eyes locked on him. “Finn,” she said. “Remove the bindings.”

“Rey are you…” She nodded again, still looking at Kylo.  “Fine,” muttered Finn. In a few seconds, after a few muttered words from Finn, the restraints were gone. Kylo let out an involuntary moan of relief and stood up, flexing his fingers and forearms, before standing up.  He stood, perhaps a bit too close to the Slayer, looking down menacingly at her. She returned his stare stubbornly, despite the fact that he towered over her. Then Rey raised a hand and held it out to him. He eyed it for a moment, before raising his. She looked at him expectantly, not moving her hand forward.

Kylo suddenly felt very vulnerable and exposed as he slowly reached out his hand to hers, to shake it, and to seal their deal.  But as soon as his fingers touched hers, he felt whatever it was inside of him that was new and human call out to her, as if it knew who she was, and wanted to be close to her. It was not an unpleasant feeling, so he immediately dropped his hand after a curt handshake, shutting up the sensation of disappointed that bubbled in his chest.

 _Quiet you_ , he scolded to what he hoped was his soul.

“Okay,” said Poe, breaking the silence. “Well this has been a fun and eventful night, but it’s getting late and Finn and I had plans tonight …”

“What are you talking about,” said Rose. “We are staying here, I’m not going home tonight!”

“Yeah same here,” said Luke. “It’s 2 in the morning.”

Poe made a face but raked a hand through his hair. “See this is what happens when you’re the only one with stable job and a house. I’m never getting laid again,” he muttered under his breath, and then turned toward Luke. “Okay,” he said gesturing toward him. “Come on, I’ll show you to the guest room.”

“I’m sharing with Poe and Finn,” said Rose, leaving the room with a yawn.

Finn looked at Rey and then back toward Kylo.  Kylo could see the still-lingering suspicion in his eyes.

“I’m going to put a barrier spell on the house,” Finn said. “Just in case our new house guest gets antsy.”

Rey nodded, and squeezed his shoulder.

“Thank you, Finn,” she said. “I really appreciate this. Sorry about the inconvenience, I know you were looking forward to dirty sex-play tonight.”

Finn shrugged. “No worries, I was feeling fat tonight anyway.”

Rey laughed and gave Finn a hug before he left the living room, leaving Kylo alone with the Slayer. The eyed one another, sizing one another up. Kylo tried to cut an imposing figure, drawing him up to full height, but it still had no impact on her.

“Do you sleep,” she asked, her arms crossed.

“Of course,” he answered. “Though I am not sure if my sleep requirements will change, like many things I am not sure how this new humanity will impact the day-to-day needs of my physical body.”

“Well,” said Rey, gesturing behind him. “You can take the couch. But I’ll be in that chair right there,” she said, pointing to a large puffy chair that faced the couch. “So no funny business.”

“No funny business,” he repeated with a nod. When Rey turned from him toward a trunk against the wall, he took the chance to final free himself of the ridiculous clothing he was confined in.  Rey turned back toward him, a blanket in hand, when the shorts were to his knees.

“What the hell are you doing,” she snapped, throwing the blanket hard at him. Kylo caught the blanket, while the shorts hung at his knees. “Put those back on!”

Kylo’s mouth twisted in dissent. “Those,” he said pointing at the fabric now around his ankles, “are ridiculous, tight, and itchy! I cannot sleep in such conditions.”

“Well, you’re damn well gunna,” said Rey. “Poe will kill you if he comes out and finds your bare ass on his couch.”

“But they are so constricting,” Kylo whined. 

Rey rolled her eyes, and put a hand on her hip, looking at him as though she were about to scold him.

“Look,” she said. “Just _please_ , wear them for tonight, and we’ll make other arrangements tomorrow. We have to get you some real clothes anyway if we ever want to take you out in public.”

“Fine,” said Kylo, plopping in a manner most undignified onto the couch, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t in Korriban where such plopping would be seen as unbefitting, and right now he was too tired to argue. “But I find it all ridiculous that I should lose sleep because of some unnatural aversion to nudity that seems to plague you humans.”

Rey sat back on the chair across from him, and pulled a lever on the side, propping her feet up.  Another odd contraption, observed Kylo.

“It’s not…it’s not an aversion to nudity,” said Rey, pulling a blanket up around herself. “It’s just…it has to do with context.”

“Context,” repeated Kylo, laying back on the couch, one of many things apparently too small for him in this human world. His feet hung off the edge of the couch. He held out his hand and tried to fold the edge of the blanket down over his feet, but still nothing came, it seemed his telepathy was either gone or still glitching. He let out a growl of frustration and looked at Rey, expectantly.

“What,” she asked, already snuggled into the chair.

Kylo wiggled his feet, illustrating his need.

“I am far too large for this couch.”

“Yes,” said Rey, her mouth in a tight line, as though trying to hold back a laugh. “I can see that.”

Kylo growled at her. “You could at least get up and cover my feet, seeing as how all my movement has been constricted by these shorts you insist on me wearing.”

Rey rolled her and stood up. “I’m not buying it, but seeing as it’s your first day on earth, I’ll help. But don’t get used to it! Just because you were kinda of a big deal on Korriban, doesn’t make you not an awkward bumbling toddler here on earth.”

Kylo didn’t respond as she moved to the edge of the couch and pulled the blanket down over his feet. He smiled at the feel of the fuzzy on his legs and feet. So far most things have been disappointing on earth, but the blanket was incredibly soft, and he enjoyed the sensation of running his hands up and down the cloth, feeling the threads move this way and that.

“What do you mean my context,” he asked.

“What?”

“You said nudity and context are significant here,” he said. “What does that mean?

Rey rubbed her eyes tiredly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Kylo noted the way again, the red blush that creeped over her ears and nose.  If she was a Slayer, one who had seen all manner of unseemly things, then why would nudity fluster her, he wondered? It made very little sense?

“It means that, like when you take a bath nudity is okay. When you go to the mall, nudity is not okay.  When you are…intimate with someone, nudity is okay,” she said falling back into her chair, and pulling the blanket back up to her chin. “When you are mortal enemies, like a Slayer and a demon, nudity is not okay.”

Kylo nodded, but he did not fully understand. No one wore clothes on Korriban, their skin was tough and hard.   The only reason he could imagine to wear clothes was that it kept one from the elements, or served some survival function, but these humans clothing were thin, and frail and could easily be lanced by one of his own claws. And apparently he would be forced to don clothing like this, lest he violate some social consciousness.

Oh well, he thought, for now he felt this weak human body was tired from the days journey, and soon after closing his eyes, sleep took him.


	3. BB Hates Kylo

This morning, it was not the sound of angry cars or cursing passer-byers that woke Rey from her slumber, it was the sound of angry growling and hissing. She rolled her eyes and kicked off her blanket, tracing the source of the ruckus to the kitchen.

“Remain still, creature, and this will be painless,” said a voice.

Rey froze in the doorway of the kitchen taking in the scene. Kylo was crouched, long lithe limbs tense and coiled, a knife in one hand and his claws extended on the other, ready to pounce, and there, boxed in the corner was BB, Poe’s fat house cat, ears flat, back arched, and hissing deeply. Rey could already see the scratches blooming on Kylo’s forearm.

She would have to make sure to give BB extra treats later.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” she said, trying not to yell and awake her sleeping friends. Kylo turned and looked at her, red eyes blazing. BB capitalized on this moment to dart between the legs of her captor and into the safety of the hallway.  Kylo stood and turned on her angrily.

“That was my kill human! I hunted that creature myself.”

“You didn’t hunt,” said Rey, her voice low and trembling with frustration. “It lives here!” Rey reached out and grabbed the knife from him, holding up the pointed end close to his chin as though it were a finger, pointing accusingly. “We do not eat pets! Especially fat, orange ones that a certain couple dresses up for major holidays and pretends is their own flesh and blood child, understand?!”

“That,” said Kylo, holding up his own finger close to her face in a similarly accusatory fashion, “is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

“Yeah well,” said Rey, holding out her hands. “That’s earth for you.” She placed the knife on the counter, and rubbed her forehead with her palms, already feeling the headache clustering behind her eyes.

“I was…I required…I woke with a strange, empty feeling in me and I thought the cat could…”

Rey let out a snort of laughter and looked up at Kylo. “You’re hungry, you’re saying you are hungry.”

“I suppose so,” said Kylo. “I’ve never felt hungry before, is this what it feels like?”

Rey looked at him for a moment.

“For an old-ass demon you don’t know a lot,” said Rey.

“I know that dressing up cats in human wear is not only embarrassing for the cat but also the human.”

Rey nodded in ascension to the point, before walking over to the fridge and opening it. “This where our food comes from.”

She felt Kylo close behind her. He looked suspicious of the fridge. He bent at his waist, in an almost 90 degree angle, taking it in. Rey jumped away to avoid the downward swing of his horns, which seemed to be growing rapidly now that his body was adjusting to whatever change had occurred.

“I require meat,” he said.

“Yeah we have that.” Rey reached inide and pulled out the bacon and held it out in front of him. Kylo snatched it from her and held it up to his eyes, examining it carefully, and then sniffing it.

“This does not look or smell like any living thing I have ever seen.”

“It’s because it’s not alive anymore,” she said. “It was an animal and it was killed and turned strips of delicious fat.”

Kylos’ nose scrunched up and he held the package out back to Rey, as thought it were something horribly offending to his precious demon sensibilities.

“Trust me,” said Rey, placing the bacon on the counter and going back into the fridge. “You’ll like it, everyone does.”

Rey hoped the eggs were free range, her demon as coming off rather hipstery at the moment, and she WOULD get the only demon in the universe who cared if his meat was ethically sourced.

“I’m confused,” said Kylo.

“I’m sure you are.”

“You wouldn’t let me eat the cat creature.”

“We don’t eat cats.”

“Because they can speak?”

“No.”

“Because they are more intelligent than other animals?”

“Well,” said Rey, fishing in the fridge for the cheese. “If you were to ask Poe and Finn, they’d say yes.”

“So why am I not allowed to eat the cat creature, but I am allowed to eat whatever creature has since been reduced to strips of delicious fat? Does it hold more nutritional value than the can.”

“Uhhh…probably not?”

“Yes I am allowed to eat the strip meat, but not the cat cat…why?”

Rey shut the fridge and looked at Kylo weakly. He was like a giant toddler.

“Because,” she said. “We get the bacon already dead.”

“So your objection is purely the time and the location of the kill?”

“Look Kylo,” she said. “Human function on equal part cognitive dissonance and carefully constructed rationalization, don’t poke too much or the house of card comes a tumbling. Now,” she pointed past him to the array of pans and pots that hung from the ceiling behind Kylo. “Hand me a frying pan.”

Kylo reached for a saucepan and looked at Rey, expectantly. She shook her head.

“No,” she said, pointing at the frying pan. “That one.”

Kylo reached for a spatula and looked at her again, this time with a toothy smile.

“No,” said Rey, her voice snapping and pointing even more aggressively. “Look…look where I am pointing.”

Finally, Kylo’s hands found the handle of the frying pan, and he unhooked it from the ceiling and handed it to her.

“Okay,” said Rey, pulling him over to the stove. “Next time you’re hungry, instead of eating whatever you find, you cook something. Have you cooked?”

“No,” said Kylo. “We had cooks in the citadel.”

“Of course you did,” said Rey, shaking her head. “Well there are no cooks here, so you’ll have to fend for yourself.”

“I tried to and you interrupted,” muttered Kylo.

Rey glared at him but continued without arguing. “First cooking lesson is an American delicacy, bacon and scrambled eggs.”

*******

Rey was surprised to find that Kylo was, actually a good student and quick learner. He watched every movement carefully, and when the time came to crack his own egg, he did not leave a bit of shell in the pan.  He was also rather convenient.  He leaned stupidly close to the pan, and didn’t not recoil when the oil popped and landed on his forehead, and despite Rey’s initial warnings, he reached into the stove to grasp the broiling English muffins without a potholder, only to pull them out without flinching.

Well that was one power he still maintained here on earth. Or perhaps it wasn’t a power on Korriban? Perhaps Korriban was so hot in comparison that the broiling pan was nothing against his skin.

By the time breakfast was done, the rest of the group had made their way into the living room.

“Here,” said Rey, handing Kylo a cup of coffee. “Go take this too Finn.”

“Why,” he asked.

“Because Finn and Poe let you stay here last night.”

Kylo clearly still did not understand, but did as he was told turning and carrying the cup over to Finn. Out of the corner of her eye, Rey could see Finn jump as Kylo stopped in front of him.  Kylo stood there for a moment holding the cup, while Finn looked at him, half afraid and half expectant.

“Here,” said Kylo holding out the cup to Finn. Finn looked at it carefully.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I made it,” said Kylo with a nod. “Apparently for you.”

“Thanks again,” said Finn slowly, and holding up the cup. Kylo continued to watch him, eyes wide. Slowly Finn raised the piping hot cup to his lips and took a sip of the brown liquid. Apparently, this satisfied Kylo and he turned and walked back toward Rey.

Rey could hear Finn spit the too hot liquid hurriedly back into the cup.

“Ssh,” scolded Rose, nudging him softly. “You’ll hurt his feelings!”

“His…his feelings?!”

“Yeah,” said Rose, looking past Finn toward Kylo, who was now hurrying cups of coffee out into the living room.  Rose accepted hers with a broad smile and profuse thanks, which also seemed to please Kylo. Rey found the whole interaction entertaining. She wondered how often Kylo got thanked for something other than sparing a life in his old world? He seemed to enjoy the attention.

Just like a human, she thought.

“Hey, look at this,” said Poe, coming into the kitchen. “A domestic demon.”  He paused and squeezed Rey’s shoulders, planting a kiss on her head as he reached past her for a plate. “Thanks, love.”

When he was gone Kylo turned and looked at Rey, curious.

“Is he your lover?”

Rey whipped around to face him, almost knocking the pan off of the stove.

“What?! No!”

“Well,” said Kylo. “He touched you, and then called you love, and kissed you, why would he do that if you weren’t lovers?”

Rey shook her head hurriedly and turned back to the stove, scrambling the eggs.

“Because we’re friends,” said Rey. “Or do you not have friends in Korriban?”

“Of course, we do,” said Kylo. “But we feat, conquer and kill together, we do not kiss each other unless we are hoping to satisfy our carnal desires.”

“How am I talking about sex with you again,” asked Rey, more to herself than the demon, chopping at the eggs with her spatula, making them into smaller and smaller bits. “And besides, Poe is gay.”

“Gay,” repeated Kylo, the question in his voice obvious.

“Yeah,” said Rey. “It means he likes men.”

“Doesn’t…everyone…like males?”

“No,” said Rey. “Some people like women.”

“Yes,” said Kylo slowly, now as if he were talking to a child. “But you can like both males and females of a species, correct?”

“Yes,” said Rey, and then her own eyes widened in realization. “Oh, so everyone on Korriban is…you all…demons don’t really have a preference?”

Kylo shrugged. “Some do, most primarily satisfy themselves with whatever brings them the most pleasure at the time, it could be a male or a female or anything in-between.”

“Hmmm,” said Rey with a nod. “How progressive of you? Poe, Finn,” she called. “Apparently Kylo comes from a planet of exclusively bisexual demons.”

She didn’t hear what Poe said, but from the yelp of pain she deduced that it earned him an elbow to the side from someone.  Kylo didn’t respond, as he seemed to be chewing over the realization that one could want to be with one person, or even one type of person.

“Okay,” said Rey turning off the stove and handing Kylo a plate, piled high with eggs, bacon and an English muffin. He looked at the plate and back at her. “I just assumed you eat a lot, and since I have no whole pig to offer you….”

Kylo nodded and turned with her as they walked to the living room. Rey sat on the floor next to Finn’s feet. Rey had purposely left the chair open for him, but he sat on the ground next to her, propped up against the couch, precariously balancing his mound of food.

Luke still eyed Kylo wearily, but didn’t say anything about the odd little situation they found themselves in.

“Are you patrolling tonight,” asked Rose.

Rey nodded. “Yeah.”

“After your training,” said Luke, a warning in his voice. “Your shenanigans have cost us two nights of training, and I had to leave Chewie to open the gym today. He was not happy about it.”

“Oh he’ll be fine,” said Rey with a shrug. “And I won’t skip on training, or my shift at the gym, anything else I can do for you, Master Skywalker.”

Kylo looked from Rey to Luke, surprised.

“Does he own you?”

Finn let out a bark of laughter, almost dropping his plate, and choking on his bite of egg. Poe hit his back, trying to help him swallow the bite.

“No,” said Rey, turning her glare on Luke. “He doesn’t.

“But he kind of does,” said Finn, whipping away a tear.

“No, he doesn’t,” protested Rey.

“He owns your ass, girl,” said Finn. “He’s your employer, your Watcher, your surrogate father.”

Rey looked at Kylo. “No,” she said. “I was being sarcastic. He’s my teacher, and my boss.”

“Teacher?’

“Yeah,” said Rey. “Slayers all get a Watcher. The Watcher is supposed to be a source of encouragement and empowerment, mine is a hard ass.”

“Please,” said Luke. “I’m the only Watcher who would be able to put up with, Rey.”

“That’s true,” said Rey, smiling at him. She saw Kylo look from her to Luke, confused, unable to track the sudden shift in the tone of conversation.

“Hey, Poe, Finn,” said Rey. “I need you guys to do me a favor today.”

“Well,” said Poe. “We are kind of in the middle of your last favor…”

“What do you need,” asked Finn, interrupting his boyfriend.

“I need you guys to take Kylo shopping.”

“WHAT!?” Luke, Finn and Poe spoke in unison over the sound of forks hitting plates.  Rey looked at Kylo who was now enjoying his breakfast unperturbed, except to occasionally poke at his bacon with his fingers and then examine the sheen of grease it left there.

“Yeah,” said Rey. “If he’s going to stick around with us for a bit, he needs normal human clothes.”

“And you’re asking us why,” asked Poe. “Because we are men, because we are gay men,  and you just assume because we are gay men we are interested in fashion, and you just assume we will jump at the chance to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy your demon boyfriend?”

“Yyyes,” said Rey, sheepishly.

“Well I’m in,” said Poe. “How about you babe?”

“Oh yeah for sure,” said Finn. “I’ve always wanted to live out my very own early 2000’s movie make-over montage.”

“Who hasn’t,” said Rose.

Kylo was still eating, still unconcerned with the conversation unfolding in front of him, as he watched his bacon flop down onto the plate limply.

“Kylo,” said Rey. “Stop playing with your damn food and eat it.”

Kylo glared at her before shoving the piece of bacon into his mouth.

“Charming,” said Rey, her lips in a tight line of annoyance. She stood up and stretched. “Okay,” she said, handing Finn her wallet. “Just don’t take him anywhere expensive, he doesn’t need to look like a runway model, he just needs to blend in.”

Poe looked past her at Kylo. Rey turned as well, his horns protruded from the long black hair, his red eyes darted around, taking in the room, his talons, while retracted were still long and noticeable, and even if any of that had not been true, his features were sharp and distinct. 

“Okay,” said Rey. “Just do your best. Finn can you work your magic and make him look more like a human and less like the spawn of Satan?”

“I got you,” he said. Rey nodded.

“Okay,” she nodded her head. “I have to go to the gym now, I’m doing the spin class today,” she turned and looked at Luke, pointedly. “See Luke, I’m doing my day job and my night job of saving the world.”

“Good for you…millennial,” said Luke.

“After your done with him call me,” said Rey. Poe and Finn and nodded. Rey was gathering her stuff when she heard Kylo ask Finn and Poe what was going on, before she left she could hear Poe answer.

“Well Kylo,” said Poe. “By the end of the day you’re going to know all you could ever want about a French Tuck.”


	4. Mr. Tall, Dark and Sexy

“Now if an attacker gets their hands on you, the best tool in your arsenal is your voice,” said Rey, standing in front of the scattered row of women in front of her. “Most of the time these scum bags want an easy target, a very loud and clear “No! Someone call 911 I’m being attacked”, will immediately tell them that you are aware of your surroundings and have not lost your presence of mind.”

Rey spoke the words from memory at this point, but she wasn’t all mentally there. Usually this was her favorite class at Skywalker’s gym, it was her baby, born of a moment when Rose commented that she loved being her friend because she felt like she could go out at night without keeping her keys between her fingers as a weapon.  Rey had never known that kind of fear. She had lived in foster homes and she had lived on the street, but whether born of foolishness or cockiness, there was not an ass that she believed she couldn’t kick. Perhaps it had been her still dormant slayer instincts, or perhaps it was just the stupidity of childhood. This confidence only increased on the offset of her powers. She roamed graveyards, hellmouths, and the L.A streets without fear, but when Rose commented, she realized that this was not a luxury most women were afforded.

Out of that, Rey piloted the community self-defense class, free to women and young girls.  She loved her time in the class, she loved the way women walked out of the class, their heads a little higher and their eyes a little brighter, as though they had permission to be fierce. 

But right now, it was hard to concentrate.

Right now there was a demon in her friends house. One that she was fairly certain was harmless. But would he always be? What if he got his powers back? What then? Would he turn on them? And even now she felt herself compelled to be with him, it was as loud as any of her other instincts, the ones that had always kept her alive. And she couldn’t silence it.

“But if your voice fails then you’re going to want to keep your cool and identify which primary targets you have access too. Now everyone partner up…”

She would feel better if there was some explanation for this feeling. She had never had problem dispatching demons. Sure, this one had a soul and was half human, but whatever was at play she couldn’t describe. She wasn’t certain she could kill him, and not out of any loyalty or affection, but as though it were a simple law of nature.  And that made her afraid.

****

“All right,” said Poe going through the rack of clothes. “Let’s see…what else will flatter Mr. Tall, Dark and Sexy.”

Finn snorted as he went through the pile of pants. “Rey put us on a budget,” said Finn. “Remember. He doesn’t need to look like he just got off the runway at Milan.”

Poe rolled his eyes but continued to look through the rack of clothes.

“Is it unfairly stereotyping to assume his aesthetic is black,” asked Finn, taking a black button up off the rack next to him.

“I don’t know,” said Poe. “Some of those demons get awful gaudy with their dress. Remember that one vengeance demon with the horns, and the red robes?”

“Oh yea,” said Finn, then looked pleased with himself. “You know he wanted to hire me to become a vengeance demon.”

“I know,” said Poe.

“He was very impressed with my work.”

Finn knew he had told the story before, but he didn’t care.  He was proud of how quickly he had developed as a warlock, and he was happy it was able to keep his friends safe and help Rey do her job well. 

“You’re an impressive man, love,” said Poe, throwing him a knee-buckling smile. 

“So true.”

Poe snorted and held up a plaid shirt. “I feel like he could go gloomy dark, or lumberjack.”

“Why not both,” said Finn.

Poe opened his mouth to say something and then closed it and looked around.

“Oh shit,” he said. “We lost him.”

Finn looked around panicked. “How did we lose him, he’s huge, he’s a demon, he’s…” Poe stopped and pointed over to the shoes. “He’s right there.”

Finn covered his heart with his hands in relief, before heading toward Kylo, who was looking at a particularly high pair of stiletto heels.

“Kylo,” said Finn. “Why don’t you come back over here with us.”

Kylo turned to face Finn, one of the red heels in his hand.

“What is this?” He held the shoe out toward Finn, heel first. Finn backed away from it as though it were a weapon.

“It’s a shoe,” said Finn. “You put it on your feet. You don’t have shoes?”

“We have hooves,” snorted Kylo.

“Well, yes then you wouldn’t need shoes would you,” he said, taking the heel gently from Kylo and putting it back.

“It doesn’t seem structurally sound to walk on.”

“Well,” said Finn. “I think we’d have to special order that shoe for you, buddy. I doubt they carry it in your size.”

“I do not think I’d want to wear those on my feet,” he said. “I can barely tolerate these foolish things.” Kylo held out his foot and shook it, the flip flop at the end dangled.

“Yeah,” said Finn. “We’ll get you some better foot wear too.”

“Good,” said Kylo nodding his head, and looking around. “Are we quite finished here? I’m bored.”

“Almost,” said Finn. “You just need to try on the clothes.”

“Why?”

“To make sure they look good on you.”

Kylo’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Is it important that it looks good.”

“For some people,” said Finn, moving through the racks. “What you look like and how you present yourself says a lot about who you are.”

Kylo seemed to be considering the thought as he began pushing hangers down the rack, looking at the different shirts.

“I see,” he said. “So I present myself as fearsome and it tells people that I am to be feared.”

“Yeah,” said Finn. “Sure. I supposed the red-eyes and horns and hooves and massive build would all say that. But here on earth our clothes say that too.”

Kylo stopped and held up a black silk shirt with a huge tiger on the back.

“And what does this say about me?”

“That you have a pinkie ring, a gold chain and ride around in a convertible,” said Finn snatching it away.

“Oh god what is that monstrosity,” asked Poe. Finn put it back on the rack and looked at the clothes hanging from Poe’s hand.

“You see Kylo,” said Finn. “It’s best if you go a more understated look. You already stand out with the face, and everything else, so you don’t need to go big with your looks. You wear a black turtle neck and a nice pair of jeans and you’ll still look like you belong on the cover of French Vogue.”

Finn handed Kylo a black button up shirt and a pair of dark jeans.

“Now try these on.”

Kylo moved a hand to his shorts, before Finn reached out and stopped him.

“No…no… go in there…” He pointed at the room behind him, and Kylo let out a sigh.

“You all should really be more specific with your instructions.”

“Fair enough,” said Finn. “And you should assume that all nudity happens in private.”

Kylo nodded.

“I’ll attempt to remember that.”

When Kylo disappeared behind the curtain Finn turned in Poe, eyes wide.

“This is not going to work,” he said. “I don’t like this.”

“What,” said Poe with shrug. “He’s harmless.”

“Yeah,” said Finn. “That’s the problem. He’s just the kind of demon who could “accidentally” start an apocalypse because he doesn’t even know what a shoe is!”

“Oh stop stressing,” said Poe. “It’s kind of fun having a new Avenger in the group.”

Finn pursed his lips and shook his head.

“I don’t like it. I don’t care how pretty he is, I don’t like it.  He’s going to wander off like some kind of toddler and we aren’t going to be able to find him, until we see the giant tidal wave of flames descending on the whole world, and it’ll be all my fault.”

Poe put his hands on Finn’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

“Look at me,” Poe said. “You’re spiraling. Take a breath.”

Finn nodded and obeyed, taking in a giant gulp of breath.

“We aren’t going to lose him. He’s not going to destroy the world. We’re the Avengers man, there’s literally nothing we can’t all handle together. We’ve averted an extinction-event before, and we will do it again if we have too.” Poe looked over Finn’s shoulder to make sure that the curtain remained closed and that Kylo had not reappeared. “And honestly,” said Poe. “I know Rose read all those scary things about him, but, honestly, he didn’t even know what bacon was. I really think we are fine.”

Finn took another deep breath and nodded.

“You’re right.”

“And soon he’ll be gone, because you’re a brilliant warlock and you’ll figure out a way to get him back to his home planet.”

Finn nodded.

“Yeah…yeah okay.”

Poe leaned forward and kissed Finn, which immediately set him more at ease. Poe’s ability to make him feel like he could do anything in the world, was just one of a million reasons he was so in love with him.

“I feel as though these are far too constricting.”

Finn and Poe turned around as Kylo emerged from behind the curtain.

“No,” said Finn. “Those fit perfectly.”

He said walking over to him, and maneuvering him in front of the mirror. Poe joined him and gave the ensemble a once over.

“When you wear them, they stretch out a bit, but it’s a good fit.”

Kylo turned around in the mirror, his head turned to look over his shoulder. Finn squeezed his lips shut to keep the emerging laugh repressed as the 6’3’’ demon made sure that the pants were flattering to his demon-ass.

Poe reached out and grabbed the sleeves that went all the way to his wrists and rolled them up his forearm. 

“Where would I wear this,” asked Kylo, casting an annoyed look at Poe as he corrected the collar of his shirt and smoothed out the shoulders.

“This is a day or night look,” said Poe. “It’s casual, but still elevated.”

Kylo’s nose scrunched and he narrowed his eyes looking at himself in the mirror again.

“Casual and elevated. Those are contradictory,” he cocked his head to the side. “Yet seem to accurately describe the look.”

Poe clapped Kylo on the back.

“Glad you like it, big guy. Now get back in there and try on the rest of the clothes.”

Kylo let out a sigh of annoyance but obeyed.

“See,” said Poe when he was gone. “Nothing to worry about.”

Finn nodded, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was moving behind all of this. That none of this was an accident, and that something that none of them could quite clearly make out was looming in the distance.

***********

It had been a long 500 hundred years for Mother Talzin.

500 years of waiting, of feeding off the souls of her fellow Nightsisters, of watching as even some of the most faithful gave up hope that the promise would ever be fulfilled. But she had always known. She had never lost faith that one day the wayward son would return.

She knew she would feel the stirring in her bones, in her ancient, waiting soul. That she would hear his voice calling to her from that other realm, where he remained trapped, unable to break through into her dimension.

“Not much longer, my love,” she whispered in the darkness, running her hand lovingly over the ancient summoning text. “Our time is coming soon. The Key has arrived, and soon it will be in our hands.”


	5. In Retrospect, the Air Mattress was a Bad Idea

It was perhaps the oddest day of Kylo’s life.  New clothes, more coffee; this time gathered from another location, and with far more flavors than the coffee that he had made at the human’s home. It assaulted his senses at first, sweet and bitter, but the more he sipped on it, the more he liked it.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about the warlock and his mate. They were…hospitable, and fascinating. They bickered a lot, and they smiled a lot. They held hands, and swatted at each other. They laughed at things that Kylo did not quite understand or find particularly humorous. And they were often unintentionally humorous in their expressions, inflections and mannerisms.

It was quite difficult to imagine himself as sharing anything in common with them, hard to imagine that he was part human.  But somehow, it wasn’t hard to imagine why his father had, apparently, been fascinated with them, enough so to fall in love with one.

Still inexcusable, but now more understandable.

They also walked everywhere, something that Kylo found extremely annoying. He had once been able cross dimensions with a thought a poof, and now he was confined to walk about like a common animal.  But it was normal for the humans, it seemed, they all walked everywhere, somehow managing not to fall despite the fact that their eyes were cast down at the glowing rectangles called phones. It was impressive, their senses must be more heightened then he had initially given them credit for.

While they walked Poe and Finn chatted on about things that held no interest for him, so he was looking out over the streets of people, the stores and shops they passed, selling more coffee, and more clothes and more shoes.

“Why do they need so many,” he asked.

Poe turned toward him.

“What?”

“So many merchants,” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient to get all of your coffees and all of your clothes and all of your shoes at the same place?”

“That’s called a monopoly, Kylo,” said Finn, a tone in his voice that Kylo couldn’t identify, but intuitively told him that Finn was tooling with him. “And they put these cute little mom and pops shops out of business.”

“What?”

“People like options,” said Poe, shooting a look at Finn. “One spot only has a few options.”

“Isn’t that exhausting?”

“Sometimes,” said Poe, with a shrug. “But it gives you a lot of options for expressing your own unique style.”

Kylo nodded again. That seemed to be important. None of the humans dressed the same. To be fair there was also a variety of demons on Korriban. Some were big and towering, others impish and sneaky; some were black, some were red, some were gold and some were orange.

But he got the impression that this was different.

When they finally stopped walking, they were standing beside a building that Kylo hadn’t seen yet. He peered in through the great windows to see people running in place, pumping their legs on a horse-like stationary apparatus, and others who had legs and arms hooked up to machines that they were straining against.

“Where are we now?”

“This is Skywalker’s gym,” said Poe. “Rey should be finishing up her training soon.”

The three walked into the gym to find Rose sitting at the front desk, typing away at her computer. Her eyes flickered up instinctively as though to greet a customer, but then her face broke out into a genuine smile.

“Hello friends,” she said.

Poe leaned over the counter and kissed her on the cheek, and then Poe did the same. Kylo wasn’t sure if this was another human custom he would cause offense for not completing, but he stood back all the same. 

“Hey Kylo,” she said. “How was your first day out on the town.”

“It was…educational,” he said with a curt nod.

“Uh huh,” said Rose with a nod. “That sounds about right. Well you look…” she gave him two thumbs up. Kylo looked down at his own hands, his human hands, claws covered by the magic of the warlock’s glamor spell, then raised them to mimic the gesture.

Rose let out a small laugh and nodded.

“You look good,” said Finn. “That means you look good.”

“Oh,” said Kylo. “Then why not just say that?”

Before Poe could answer, Rey appeared in the lobby.  She opened her mouth to speak and then stopped, her eyes falling on Kylo. He watched as a change in her demeanor flickered across her face, only to disappear as quickly as it came. It was not one he was able to place, and, like many things in this world, confused him.

“You’re back,” she said.

“Yes,” said Kylo, looking at her. “Why are you so moist?”

Finn let out a snort of laughter, and looked at Rey.

“Was that funny,” asked Kylo. “I didn’t mean for it to be.”

“No,” said Rey, glaring at him, whatever had passed in her eyes a moment ago was certainly gone. “It was rude,” she said, her hands on her hips.

“Oh don’t be so sensitive,” said Rose. “It’s not the worst thing he’s said to you.”

“Still,” said Rey, whipping away the glistening sheen from her forehead, and then in a moment that Kylo would replay several times in his head and wonder why he didn’t incinerate her right then and there, flicked it at him. Kylo let out a bark of surprise and recoiled from her.

“Hey,” scolded Finn. “Those are brand new clothes, children, don’t ruin them.”

“Yeah speaking of which,” said Rey, holding out her hand. “Give me my credit card back.”

Finn handed it over with a smirk. She pocketed it and brought her water bottle up to her lips and took a drink.

“Is it on me,” asked Kylo. “Is her…is her sweat on me?”

“Don’t be a baby,” said Rey, throwing him a towel. “I watched grease pop into your face earlier and you didn’t flitch.”

“Bodily fluids are different,” said Kylo, dabbing daintily at his mouth and the front of his shirt.  “I don’t know what kind of diseases you carry.”

Rey took a step toward him, but Kylo stood her ground and stared down at her. He wasn’t sure why he was provoking her, but he couldn’t stop himself. There was something about the way she was looking at him that irritated him but also made him want to press further. It was compelling, childish, and a little too human.

“Should I be frightened,” he asked.

“Don’t know,” she said. “How much do you value your ba…”

“Hey guys,” said Rose, her voice hi and loud to drown Rey out. “Thank you for being here, please come again.”

Rey turned to see the mother-daughter duo passing them in the lobby and waving goodbye.

“Bye Tia…Bye Amy,” said Rey, waving to them. “See you next week.”

When they were gone, Rey stepped away from Kylo.

“Are you going to go patrolling tonight,” asked Poe.

“Yeah,” said Rey. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because,” said Poe. “Finn and I don’t want to babysit tonight.” He jerked his head at Kylo. “If you know what I mean.”

Rey sighed and raised a hand to her forehead.

“Uggh…”

“Take him with you,” said Rose, with a shrug. “Then you’d have some back up, some demon-backup.”

Rey scrunched up her nose.

“That seems cannibalistic,” said Rey.

“Just ask him,” said Rose. “Hey Kylo, do you have moral issues with killing demons.”

“None at all,” he said. “In fact my kills have remained almost exclusively of the demon variety.”

Rey leaned pathetically over the counter, resting her head in hands and letting out a whimper.

“Uhhhhh….” She moaned. “Fiiiine.”

“Kylo tonight we are going vampire hunting,” she said. “Because apparently my best friends are all abandoning me in their time of crisis.”

“I have a final tomorrow,” said Rose with a shrug. “My professors won’t take moonlit berry picking expeditions through a cemetery as an excused absence.”

“And you interrupted date night yesterday with your stray,” said Finn. “I bought a bottle of champagne and dipped strawberries that are now just sitting in our fridge.”

Rey scrunched up her nose.

“I don’t need to hear about your dirty sex play,” she said before turning to look at Kylo. “Okay,” she said looking him up and down. “I guess you can make yourself useful while you’re here.”

Kylo wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about, but the chance to let some of his tension out through violence was not something he would turn down. It would also give him a chance to see what of his powers were still preserved and to what extent. He clenched and relaxed his fist instinctively trying to test and see if the powers that once was contained there remained.  He still couldn’t tell, and he thought it best not to test it in broad daylight with her humans around.

“Uh Rey,” said Rose, leaning over the desk, speaking in a hushed tone. “What are you going to do with him tonight.”

Rey closed her eyes and let out another annoyed exhale.

“Well, Rose,” she said. “I guess Kylo can sleep on my air mattress in the tiniest apartment in the known fucking universe.”

“Sorry babe,” said Rose, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

Kylo watched as Rey’s expression softened and she shrugged and waved her hand.

“Eh whatever,” she said. “I guess it falls under slayer obligations.”

“We all told you, you could kill him, to be fair,” volunteered Finn.

Kylo glared at him angrily. “Why is it you lot spend so much time talking about me like I’m not here,” he asked.

“Because,” said Finn. “Talking to you requires three pages of footnotes to explain what exactly we are talking about, so it’s really just not worth it.”

Kylo poised himself to return the insult but was interrupted by Rey snapping her fingers in his face.

Insult after insult, he fumed.

“Come,” she said, jerking her head toward a door beside the desk where Rose was sitting.

“Where are we going?”

“You’re going to blow up the air mattress upstairs, and then we are going to go patrolling.”

“Should I bring these,” he asked holding up the bags dangling from his hands.

Rey squinted her eyes suspiciously at the bags and then back at Finn and Poe, before nodding.

“Fine, yes.”

“Aww how cute,” said Finn. “I thought you’d never ask a guy to move in with you, what with all of your weird, Slayer-commitment hang ups.”

Kylo saw Rey’s harsh glare turn on Finn, but it was a particular kind of look. He did not know her well, but he has seen a spectrum of her looks; frustrated, angry, exasperated, tired, annoyed…but this…this one was new.

And it was enough to make Finn’s face immediately fall into a look of apology.

“Too soon?”

“Always too soon,” said Rey. 

Kylo was by no means an expert in human emotions, but if pressed he would say this was his least favorite that he had seen thus far.

Not that he cared.

Not that he cared at all.

****************

“Why do you hunt them?”

 

Rey looked over her shoulder at Kylo to make sure he was still tracking behind her. This was a new cemetery, one that she had only been to a couple of times, and she didn’t know it like the back of her hand quite yet. And trying to navigate in the dark with an inquisitive demon made it all the more difficult.

 

“Because they are dangerous,” said Rey, leading Kyle through the darkness, assuring that he did not trip over any of the tombstones.  “Do you have vampires in your world?”

 

Kylo shook his head. “No none that I have encountered. I think they are a particular kind of demon exclusive to the human world.”

 

“Yeah we get some of those cross dimensional monsters too.”

 

“And you kill all of them?”

 

Rey stopped and instinctively widened her stance, gripping her stake tighter, and squinting into the darkness where she thought she had perceived movement.

 

“Uh no not always...” she said slowly. “If they are just passing through to see the scenery than no, not all of them are dangerous, they are just like…exchange students or something.”

 

“But you kill all vampires?”

 

“So far, yes,” she answered curtly. “I have yet to find an exception to the rule.”

 

“And you do this because they are vampires?”

 

“Yup,” she said. “Because they are vampires and I’m the Slayer. It’s pretty much what goes with the title.”

 

“So it is the nature of your relationship, the way your world balances the evil in it.”

 

Rey didn’t respond, her eyes roving over the freshly turned dirt. 

 

“Is that at all upsetting for you,” he pressed.

 

This got her attention. 

 

“What,” she snapped angrier than she actually meant.

 

“That your existence and purpose depends solely on the existence of evil in your world; that without the scourge of the undead you would have no reason to be here.”

 

“No,” she said. “Shut up! No. I have purpose. I have friends, and interests and things...”

 

“Oh,” he said. “My mistake then.”

 

“That’s right,” she said.  “You big ass,” she muttered.  “Don’t have any purpose... pshh you don’t have a purpose... stupid giant well-dressed demon...” and then she felt the sensation of falling forward and cold hands wrapped around her ankle.  “God Dammit, Kylo!”

 

The admonition flew from her mouth before she could stop it. And her mind immediately began reaching for a reason that it was Kylo’s fault.

 

She looked up to see Kylo looking down at her, a look of understandable confusion. 

 

“You were distracting me,” she said, standing up and wiping away dirt. Her eyes went to the fresh grave and the hand that was reaching from the dirt.  

 

“I don’t know that I can rightfully be blamed for human clumsiness.” 

Rey ignored him as the vampire writhed like an earth worm to the surface, spitting up mud and dirt

 

“What the hell is going on...” 

 

Rey grabbed the vampire by the collar and jerked it out of the ground

 

“Hey,” protested the vamp. “This is a nice suit...”

 

Before the vampire could finish Rey stabbed her stake into the vampire’s chest and it disappeared in a puff of dust. She straightened and flipped her stake performatively.

 

“That’s it,” asked Kylo. “It didn’t look so hard.”

 

“Well I don’t always get them fresh out of the grave usually they...”

 

“You’re mine slayer!”

 

Rey dropped to her knees to avoid the vampire that hurled itself over her, arms reached out to grab her. Kylo moves out of the way so the leaping vampire didn’t collide with him. It sailed past Kylo and into a huge tombstone, cracking it in two.

 

The vampire leapt up and snarled at them, his face transforming before their very eyes.

 

“Ewww,” said Kylo. 

 

The vampire turned its blood-thirsty eyes on Kylo, clearly offended.

 

“That was rude,” said the vampire.

 

“Don’t take it personal,” said Rey. “He’s not from around here.”

 

“Oh,” said the vampire, looking Kylo up and down. “An out of towner hey? And she’s making you work on your visit?”

 

Kylo looked at Rey, confused.

 

“I do not understand what is happening right now.”

 

“Yeah it’s just, fighting banter,” said Rey with a shrug. “I’ve set a bad precedent and now they expect it every time. It was really my mistake.”

 

Rey ducked as the advancing vampire through a punch at her, and then kicked out with her leg, collapsing the vampire’s knee. She rolled toward the vampire and pressed a knee into his chest before he could rise, she caught the stake in her hand and thrust it forward, burying it deeply into his chest.

 

Rey loved moments like this. It was so simple, so easy, and so sure. And she was good at it. She knew when she was going to land the blow just right. She knew when she hit the spot that would make them dissolve into a satisfying cloud of dust.

 

It could be complicated sometimes, being a Slayer. It could be complicated knowing when to kill and when not too, complicated knowing when to use her power and when not too, sometimes it complicated her relationships, and it had completely complicated and fucked up her relationship with Riley.

 

But this was always right. Even if their was a hulking demon standing over your shoulder looking at you with all the curiosity of a child trying to figure out how a plane stays in the air.

 

She turned and looked at Kylo.

 

“You see,” she said. “Usually they are lurking around and jump out from the shadows.”

 

“It still didn’t look that hard,” he said with shrug.

 

“Fine then, smartass,” said Rey, throwing the stake to him, against what she knew was her better judgement. “Then you get the next one.”

 

He looked down at the stake, and then back at her.

 

“Why would I use this, when I can strike them down with lightening.”

 

“Well,” said Rey. “Then by all means. I’m not sure that electricity does the trick with vampires. But you’re more then willing to try, but last time it was…a bit underwhelming.”

 

Kylo flexed his fingers out and curled them into a claw, though it was much less menacing than it was when he had actual claws.   But Rey could see the glint in his eyes, the excitement that she had when she was able to unleash her own powers.

 

She just hoped he didn’t set the whole cemetery on fire.

 

*********

Luckily by 2 am Kylo had not set anything on fire. His weak electric shock had only been able to stun the vampires at first, forcing him to use the stake, much to Rey’s satisfaction. But by the end of the night, Kylo’s lightening was much stronger, something that gave him a great deal of satisfaction.

Rey was relieved to see he didn’t immediately go nuts with power and went willingly with her back to the apartment after successfully slaying two vampires.

 

Rey was actually relieved at Kylo’s total disregard for any type of social mores, or else having him sleep on an air mattress right next to her bed would feel even more awkward. Sure, it already felt like some kind of second grade sleep over, but she imagined it would feel even more uncomfortable were Kylo a normal human man.  As it was Rey wasn’t even certain what kind of predilections a Sith demon was given too.

 

“Okay,” said Rey. “I am exhausted, and I am opening up the gym tomorrow, so let’s go to bed.” Rey’s eyes went wide. “I mean you go to your bed and I go to my…bed…sleeping place… thing…”

 

Kylo looked at her confused, and then back at the mattress she was gesturing too.

 

“Is everything all right,” he asked. “Is something make you ill?”

 

“Uh nothing,” said Rey hurriedly. “Nothing let’s just…I’m going to bed.”

 

Rey flopped down onto her mattress and opened up the window above her bed, letting in air.

 

“Did Finn and Poe buy you appropriate jammies,” asked Rey, patting her pillow.

 

“I don’t know what jammies are,” said Kylo.

 

“Clothes you sleep in.”

 

“You’re sleeping in the clothes you wore today,” said Kylo.

 

“Because I’m a disgusting little sweat-goblin,” said Rey. “I’m assuming that Finn and Poe got you just comfortable t-shirts or shorts or something.”

 

“Ahh,” said Kylo his face alighting with remembrance. “Yes they did in fact purchase those things.”

 

“I purchased those things,” muttered Rey laying her head down on the pillow and pulling up her light sheets around. “And don’t change in here,” she said, pointing to the bathroom. “Go to the bathroom.”

 

She almost laughed when Kylo sneered at her and jerked the bag up.

 

“I was going to anyway,” he said, his voice childish as he stomped to the bathroom.  Rey was exhausted and stretched out her body as long as she could, luxuriating in the feel of finally being in her bed. She felt like she hadn’t slept in a long time.  She let her eyes close and was all but lulled into sleep when…

 

“Rey, I am prepared for bed,” Kylo declared, standing over her bed like a gargoyle.

 

“Congratulations,” said Rey turning her back to him. “Now turn off the lights so I can go to bed.”

 

Rey closed her eyes and waited for the blessed darkness, but behind her eyelids she could still see the light. Without looking she reached over her shoulder and pointed toward the light switch.

 

She heard Kylo shuffle toward the switch and then it went dark.  She let out a small sight and snuggled deeper into her blankets.

 

Mmmm bed…bed…bed… she thought. Finally she could…

 

“Rey…”

 

She closed her eyes tight and let out whimper.

 

“What…what…WHAT KYLO?”

 

She waited for a moment, almost feeling a little bad.

 

“What are we going to do tomorrow?”

 

“I’m going to wake up and open the gym, and then I’m going to train with Luke, and then get drinks with Rose to celebrate her kicking her finals ass and then I don’t know I haven’t planned beyond that.”

 

“Oh,” said Kylo. Rey closed her eyes and tried to settle back into sleep.  Another minute or so of silence fell over before Kylo spoke again.

 

“Rey.”

 

She breathed in deeply through her nose.

 

“Yes, Kylo?”

 

“What shall I do tomorrow.”

 

“I don’t know Kylo,” she moaned. “I haven’t planned out that far ahead yet.”

 

“All right.”

 

“Any other questions?”

 

“No,” he said, and then skipped a beat. “Wait yes. Do you suppose I’ll be able to ever get home?”  


Rey felt a twinge of sadness for him. That was a feeling she was familiar with; before Luke found her and brought her to America, before she had her people. She never felt like she belonged anywhere. She was always the street kid, the foster sister, the foster child, the dirty girl without clothes, and she felt like, no matter what, she just didn’t fit.

 

Was that how he was feeling? Even if he didn’t know it. He didn’t seem emotionally intelligent enough to be able to identify the feeling, but she imagined there was some sense of it. Why else would he have fallen in so fast with them, if not that he realized he had nowhere else to go.

 

She rolled over and peered over the edge of the bed, and her horned and fanged roommate, his red eyes winked at her in the darkness. The glamor spell would regenerate tomorrow, according to Finn, and now he looked every bit the part-human, part-demon that he was.

 

“I think you will,” said Rey. “Rose is a genius, and Finn is powerful. They will find a way to do it, it just may take a little time.”

 

Kylo nodded, seemingly content with her answer.

 

“In the meantime,” she said settling back in her bed. “You can be a temporary member of the Avengers.”

 

She could picture his confused face in the darkness, but, happily, he didn’t say anything. And Rey was finally able to fall asleep.

 

***********

Rey could hear something in the dark, something terrifying and familiar, ahead of her she could see a green glowing light and she could hear the sound of sickening ripping.  They were familiar screams, almost like the one she had dreamt about so many times before; the woman crying and her baby wailing.

 

Except it was different. She steeled herself and ran toward the light, as fast as her feet would carry her. Something outside of her was compelling her to move, something thrumming in her bones told her to hurry, that soon it would be too late, that something terrible would happen.

 

She ran toward the light but it seemed to get further and further away, even though the screams got louder.

 

They sounded like Luke, and Finn, and Rose, and Poe, screaming for her.

 

“I’m coming,” she called out, only to be met by a cruel and chilling laugh. She ran harder and faster, so fast she felt her legs may fall off.

 

“Please,” she screamed. “Please hold on.”

 

“It’s too late, young Rey,” a voice cooed from the distance. “It’s far too late.  My heir to darkness has taken his place at my right hand and everything you love…will…burn.”

***********************

 

Rey shot in bed and looked hurriedly around her apartment. It was silent and still and dark.

No heat, no green light, no creepy, semi-pedophilic voice calling to her from the darkness. Everything was normal.  Except…

She knew she should trust herself. Luke always told her to trust her Slayer instincts, but the problem was she saw fucked-up things all the time, how was she supposed to know if that was a nightmare or something more.

 

She laid back onto the pillow, damp with her sweat. She sat up again to flip it, and paused, forgetting her nightmare and the feeling of impending doom, and covering her mouth to keep a bark of laughter from rising out of her mouth.

 

She composed herself and looked again, and the giant demon-man laying on her hard floor on a completely deflated air mattress, one of the corners hanging from the edge of his horn.

 

Yeah, she thought. Should have seen that one coming.

 

All the same, he seemed to be sleeping fine through it, so she wouldn’t disturb him. She would take care of that tomorrow.


	6. Human Mating Dances

When Kylo stirred from his slumber, he found that he was alone, and that his body was slightly achy. He moaned into a pillow and sat up, surprised to find that the cushion that had held him up before had disappeared. He tentatively pressed his palms down to find them coming up against the hard floor.

 

He sat up and sniffed indignantly.

  
Oh how the mighty have fallen, he thought to himself. The Mighty Kylo Ren reduced to sleeping on the floor like some street urchin.

 

He sat up and reached forward, stretching his hands upward, unkinking his odd human body. Though he did feel himself adjusting to it, gaining comfort and ease in this new skin, or old skin…he wasn’t quite certain how it all worked.

 

He stood up and looked at Rey’s bed. Her blankets were bunched into heap at the foot of her bed, he tentatively picked up the blankets with his thumb and forefinger and holding it up in front of him.

 

Sweat- Goblin indeed, he thought, before dropping the blanket it a heap at the foot of the bed. Kylo padded over to the kitchen, his eyes falling on a plate, holding a puffy, bready pastry, with a piece of paper tucked beneath it.

 

“Good morning, Kylo. I had to go open up the gym. Eat your muffin (no cats). And come find me afterwards. Don’t forget Finn’s necklace.”

 

Ahh yes. Finn’s enchanted chain, magicked to conceal his appearance to the outside world. Kylo picked up the muffin and examined it. He held it up to his nose and sniffed. It smelled…it smelled like oats, and berries…it smelled…pleasant.  
  
Kylo held the muffin up and took a bite and chewed it experimentally. On Korriban they feasted almost exclusively on meat, the idea of food being pleasant, and warm, and soft was a new one. As he ate his muffin he made his way over to the bag of clothes with the neatly folded clothes inside.

 

While he didn’t understand the human preoccupation with clothing, he found himself warming to the different colors, fabrics and combinations of clothes.  He could see how certain items came together well, and other clashed horribly. 

 

Finn had told him that certain combinations, with the addition of a blazer, could go from a casual look to night-time casual.  He wasn’t certain what the day would hold, and whether or not the events would constitute casual wear or formal wear, though he doubted the former.

 

Sure, he only had known the Slayer for a few days, but she didn’t strike him as a formal type of person, even in comparison to her friends, even in her shoddy itinerary. He sighed and retrieved his chain, and looked at the options that lay before him. He supposed the dark trousers…or jeans as Finn called them and a three-quarter sleeves shirt, an olive shade that Finn insisted would make his “eyes pop.”

 

Of course, they weren’t his eyes though, were they. He wondered how Finn would have dressed him had he been working with his natural features.

 

By the time he dressed and finished his muffins, he could see the pink light begin to spread across the paling blue sky. It was, actually, a lovely sight, if not for all the buildings that obscured it.   Korriban did not have suns like this, Korriban was, almost on its own, a sun.

Kylo checked his reflection to make sure that the chain was doing its job and concealing his fearsome countenance, before making his way down the stairs to find Rey. He was only a few steps down when he could hear it. The sound of straining, of yelling, the familiar sound of punches thrown and received.  

 

He hurried down the stairs, toward the sound. He passed through the lobby where they had been last night, and, for the first time, into the gym. It was almost completely empty still except for across the room in the corner, an elevated platform, where Rey was pinned by a man much larger than her. Kylo was confused, Rey had strength enough to take on any human. If this one had her pinned down, if she was struggling against him he must be stronger, not human.

 

And he found himself very confused by this connection, in this moment.  He hadn’t understood what Rey meant when she told Luke that she wasn’t sure if she even could hurt him.  Because now he felt compelled to run toward, to extend his claws, to leap onto the cushiony platform and fling her attacker off.

 

It was as though it were some part of him he couldn’t control. Because if pressed, he would honestly say that he didn’t care about the Slayer, other than her ability to get him home.

 

He was crouched over the attacker, teeth bared menacingly, and fist raised. Just because the fiend couldn’t see his claws, they were there nonetheless, dangerous and sharp, ready to cut him into bloody ribbons.

 

It felt good to feel powerful again.

 

To want to kill again. 

 

He felt like…

 

“Kylo, what the fuck are you doing?!”

 

He felt himself be flung back like a rag doll.  The man kicked away from him and huddled in the corner.  Kylo looked from the cowering human, to Rey who was standing over him, her hand son her hips, her eyes blazing brilliantly against her flushed skin.

 

“I…I..”

 

He was genuinely confused, and even more so when Rey hurried over to the man, helping him to his feet.

 

“Oh god,” she said. “I am so so sorry, Brian.”

 

“It’s alright,” he said, but he had a speculative gaze fixed on Kylo. “No harm done.”

 

“He’s not from around here,” said Rey, her voice weakening as she attempted to explain.

  
“Really,” he said. “It’s…it’s not a problem.” He shrugged and then smiled at Rey, in a way that, Kylo noted, made her flush even more, less from her exercise and more from something else. Kylo squinted. She was carrying herself different than he had ever seen; her weight on one side, hip cocked out ever so slightly.  “I’m going to go cool off,” he said. “Thanks for the sparring sesh, Rey.”

 

She let out a laugh, an awkward, horribly laugh that made Kylo cringe slightly, but her assailant didn’t seem to mind. What was this? Some kind of odd, awkward human mating ritual? It was painful to watch, so base and ungraceful, it was all he could do to gag.

 

He walked away from her, throwing one more winning smile over his shoulder, as he walked away. Kylo looked from Rey to the man she called Brian. When he was well out of ear shot, Rey stalked over to him, grabbed him by the shirt and jerked him up to his feet.

 

“Hey,” he protested. “Would you stop doing that?”

 

“Will you stop being an idiot?”

 

“…Your upsetting the fabric!”

 

Rey looked from his face, down to the bunched up shirt, and rolled her eyes.

 

“Jesus,” she said. “I leave you alone with Finn for two hours.”

 

Kylo snarled angrily at her before straightening out his shirt.

 

“What were you thinking,” she said. “You could’ve killed him!”  


“Well I _wasn’t thinking_ that the punching and the fighting was some sort of pre-coital mating dance.”

 

Rey’s mouth felt open, a strangled noise came from the back of her throat, as though she were trying to form words. She raised her hands and pressed them to either side of her head.

 

“I…I…I…can’t… I…” she shook her head, as though in a daze.

 

“I don’t know why you are being so evasive,” said Kylo. “The man clearly wanted to have sex with you, you clearly want to have…”

 

“Shhh…” she brought her hand up and made closing motion with her fingers.

 

“I just…”

 

“No…” she said, with a shake of the head.

 

“But…”

 

“Uh uh…” she said. “We aren’t talking about this, Kylo. You attacked him!”

 

“I thought you were in trouble,” he said. “But next time I’ll just leave you to be bitten, or eaten, or possessed or whatever the hell happens to Slayers.”

 

“Good,” spat Rey. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”

 

“Good,” he said. “Because it’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

 

To his surprise, Rey didn’t say anything else. She just stood there, looking up at him.  After a few seconds, her countenance softened, and she took a deep breath.

 

“Look,” said Rey. “I’m sorry. I…I forget that you’re new. You don’t know what a gym is, or…anything else about our world apparently if you think that constitutes a mating anything.” She motioned over her shoulder in the direction that Brian had gone. “He’s a…client. He comes to the gym and I train him, that’s what you saw.”

 

“Train him,” Kylo repeated. “And the laughing and the wild pheromones that was also a part of the training?”

 

“And we’re done,” she said again, clapping her hands together. “I’m going to go out to the front desk…”

 

“And I’ll come too?”

 

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll show you how to check people in and maybe you’ll be able to be of use.”

 

Kylo nodded and followed her as she went to exit the ring, before he bent to fit his large frame under the rope.  Rey stopped and looked up at him.

 

“Kylo,” she said. He froze. There was something particular about the way she spoke it this time; something made him feel as though he actually was part human. She was looking up at him, a look of sincerity on her face. “Thank you,” she said with a small smile. “For…kind of saving me.”

 

Kylo wasn’t sure how to respond in the moment. He wasn’t used to gratitude, but then he wasn’t used to doing things that elicited gratitude. All he could think to do was offer a small nod before following her out of the rink.

 

**********

Rey didn’t know what was so damn frustrating about him.

 

Well, actually she knew exactly what was so irritating 90% of the time. It was that other 10% of irritating that really bothered her, it was 10% that was almost too hard too hard to handle.  The part that made her feel a stab of guilt after yelling at him, even for perfectly reasonable things.  The part that made her want to linger just a bit on his face, the part that wanted to smile when he asked her simple, sweet questions. 

 

The part that had to suppress a smile as he bent his huge frame over the computer, and dutifully asked for the names of everyone who came in, even the ones who had passes that they just had to slip under the scanner.  Like with breakfast, and even with the vampire hunting, Kylo was a quick study, proving you couldn’t be alive for a few hundred years without going around the block a couple of times.

 

He nodded and offered a comically large smile to everyone who came in.

 

“Insincerity is the heart of customer service,” said Rey. “You say hello, and you smile like they are the best thing since pizza flavored hot pockets.”

 

“Hey Rey,” came a familiar voice from the doorway.

 

“Observe,” said Rey.  Kylo nodded and leaned forward on the counter, as Rey turned toward the door, plastering her fakest of fake smiles.

 

“Hey Harmony,” she greeted. “Great to see you.”

 

“Great to see you, girl,” she said, her voice equally insincere. “How’s your morning going?”

 

“Oh you know,” said Rey. “It’s been busy. Just…”

 

“Ugh,” she interrupted. “I know! Right! I’ve been so busy since I started my own photography business.”

 

Rey’s lips formed a tight line, but she nodded, maintain eye contact with the shrill woman.

 

“I didn’t know you started a business,” said Rey. “That’s so great.”

 

“I know,” she said, flipping her hand. “I mean we are just getting started, so it’s basically just me and my phone, but it’s such hard work.”

 

“But you’re up for it,” said Rey.

 

“Totes,” she said. “I’ve always been a go-getter.  I wish I could be more like other girls, you know…content to stay at the same place for 5 years…”

 

“Mmmmhmmm,” said Rey, blowing past her insult. “Those girls are the worst.”

 

“But enough about me,” said Harmony.

 

“Oh god yes…” muttered Rey, but Harmony wasn’t looking at her, her blue eyes had honed in on Kylo.

 

“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Harmony, a friend of Rey’s.”

 

“I’m Kylo Ren,” he answered. Rey snorted at the way he said his name, his whole name, as though it were an honorary title, one to be spoken with pride.

 

Rey shook her head, but Harmony had all but forgotten she existed. Kylo looked at her hand, at Rey, and then slowly held out his hand grabbing hers. Rey watched out of the corner of her eyes as Harmony’s brightly colored nails pressed against Kylo’s pale hand. Harmony had gorgeous hands, soft and manicured, and tiny. She noticed, for the first time, how huge his hands were. It shouldn’t surprise me, he was just an all-around large person, but his hands were huge, they could completely envelope Harmony’s…she shook her head, banishing the thought.  She looked down at her own hands, they weren’t man hands, but…they were strong, calloused, covered in scratches, and scars.  Her nails were trimmed down almost to the nub. Her hands didn’t look quite so delicate, or feminine when clasped in a man’s hand.

 

She wondered if Riley ever though that, when they held hands? She shook her head, pulling herself out of that spiral and turning her attention on the spreadsheet in front of her, attempting the Herculian task of blocking out Harmony’s shrill voce.

 

“Are you a new hire?”

 

“Uh…”

 

Rey mentally panicked. Shit, they hadn’t actually gone over this, how could she be so stupid?

 

“He’s a friend,” said Rey. “Uh…he’s from out of town. He’s just hanging out with me for a couple of weeks.”

 

“Oh,” said Harmony, a smile breaking out on her face. “So you’ll be around a while.”

 

“Uh, that remains to be seen,” said Kylo.

 

“He’s just trying it out for now,” said Rey. “He’ll go back home eventually. It’s kind of like student exchange program, except he’s not a student.”

 

“Okay,” said Harmony. Lucky for Rey, Harmony just may be stupid enough to buy it. “Well I hope I can see you again, Kylo.” She leaned forward, her breasts pushing up toward the top of her low-cut tank top. Kylo, to his credit, maintained complete eye contact with her, his gaze not even blinking downward.

 

Of course, though Rey. Even demons from other planets aren’t quite as sleazy as human men.

 

“Maybe I can show you around,” said Harmony. “Let you see the underbelly of L.A.”

 

Rey couldn’t hold back the snort of laughter this time. Harmony looked up at her, her smile turning down slightly, but remaining plastered on her face.

 

“All right,” she said. “Well I guess I’ll go hit the Stairmaster.” She smacked a hand comically on her ass.  “These glutes aren’t going to work themselves.” With that she sauntered off toward the gym, an aggressive swing in her hips.

 

Kylo looked at Rey.

 

“Why was that one so chatty?”

 

“Oh,” said Rey, with a shrug. “That’s just…Harmony.”

 

“She was quite beautiful,” said Kylo.  He stated it like a fact, an obvious and observable truth, which it was, so why did it sting just a bit.

 

“Yeah,” said Rey with a curt nod. “She is.” Rey breathed in and looked at Kylo. “She uh…she thought you were cute too.”

 

Kylo’s brow furrowed in confusion.

 

“What?”

 

“Uh…right…cute is probably not a thing on your demon planet. It means she thought you were hot…no... she was…” Rey struggled to find the word that existed somewhere between his formal understanding of mating and wanting to jump his bones. “Attracted to you? She found you physically attractive…yeah.”

 

“Oh,” said Kylo. “Well, I was a highly desired demon on Korriban.”

 

“I am sure you were.”

 

“But I wouldn’t guess that those features would translate across beings.”

 

“Well,” said Rey. “They did.”

“Oh…”

 

Rey looked at Kylo, curiously. He seemed to be processing her words, still confused, either by her or the interaction with Harmony.

 

“Look,” she said. “You know how you noticed the way that Brian was looking at me, and I was looking at Brian.”

 

“Yes,” said Kylo, slowly. “But I thought we weren’t talking about that.”

 

“We’re not,” said Rey. “We are 1000% not talking about it. But you noticed right.”

 

“Oh I think every animal in the 100 mile radius noticed it,” said Kylo. Rey’s eyes narrowed, but she continued.

 

“I don’t know how it works on Korriban, but when humans find another human that they think is smart, or funny, or attractive, or…you know it’s a Tuesday and there’s nothing good on TV and they’re there, then we flirt.”

 

“Flirt…” he repeated.

 

“Yeah, we flirt. Women smile or touch an arm…” she absently laid her arm on Kylo’s forearm, to demonstrate. He jolted but he didn’t pull away, he just looked down at her hand and then back up to her eyes. Rey momentarily lost track of what he was saying; he was looking at her with honey-brown eyes, unassuming and open, like she could see very single emotion that would pass there, and she found herself, desperately wanting to see his real eyes, to see if they held the same vulnerability, despite their red glow. “Uh…” she shook her head. “Or she’ll lean in real close like Harmony did…” she demonstrated again, this time trying to regain a bit of control. “Or she’ll bat her eyes, like this…” she batted her eyes comically.

 

“Oh yes,” quipped Kylo. “I can see why that would be irresistible.”

 

Rey laughed, and pulled away.

 

“Oh you’d be surprised,” she said. “When it all comes together it’s like magic. Anyway,” she said, shaking her head. “Harmony was flirting with you, because she thought you were attractive…or cute.”

 

“And what do men do,” asked Kylo, abruptly.

 

“What?”

 

“When they are flirting, what do men do?”

 

“Uh,” Rey thought for a moment. “Ummm…I’m not sure, you’d have to ask Finn and Poe about that.  It can range from a “call me”, but in my experience it usually consists of a dick getting rubbed up on you on the subway.”

 

“Oh my god,” said Kylo. “That doesn’t sound pleasant.”

 

“Yeah it’s not,” said Rey.  “It’s not the direction I would recommend should you choose to flirt with Harmony or anyone else.”

 

Kylo nodded and looked back at the computer, Rey let out a relieved breath that the conversation had ended.

 

“Rey…”

 

She spoke too soon.

 

“Should I have flirted back?”

 

“What?”

 

“Is that what social mores demand of me,” he said. “That when a female flirts with me, that I flirt back? I know you all are very strict about appropriate decorum.”

 

Rey let out a snort of a laugh and shrugged.

 

“If you think a girl is cute,” she said. “Then flirt away.”

 

“So if I think she’s funny, smart, attractive, or if there’s nothing good on TV, I should flirt?”

 

“Yeah…” she said. “Go for it, Kylo Ren.”

 

Kylo looked to be chewing on her words for a moment before turning back to her.

 

“Rey,” he said. “Harmony was aesthetically pleasing…”

 

“Yeah,” said Rey, annoyance biting at her voice. “You said that…”

 

“But…I didn’t want to flirt with her…”

 

Rey actively bit back her smile, there was that 10% again. That 10% that was the most infuriating thing about him, the thing that made her feel a slight surge of giddy joy.

 

“Then you shouldn’t,” she said. She wanted to say more but she wasn’t sure what, exactly. But that seemed to satisfy him for the moment, and this conversation was becoming…uncomfortable for her. This was not her area of expertise. Attraction, flirtation, men…she wasn’t good at any of it.  The necessities of her job made it hard, and with Riley the necessities of her job had been…

 

She shook her head again, beating back thoughts of Riley. She looked back over at Kylo who was typing at the computer, delighting himself with the wonders of photoshop.  After going over his new “answer” for when someone asked who he was and why he was there, and after the rush of the midday lunch crowd, a group of people that Rey found fundamentally untrustworthy for their willingness to use their lunch time to go to the gym, Luke finally arrived for her training.

 

More than most this training session crawled by, with exercises, sparring, and meditations, frequently interrupted by peaking out into the lobby to assure that Kylo was still there. 

 

“Sure that’s a good idea,” asked Luke, shooting a worried gaze out toward the lobby.

 

“Well he’s already better than the loser you hire who come to work high on their second day.”

 

“Well they aren’t demon lords,” said Luke, gripping the body pad tightly in front of him. “So perhaps we shouldn’t compare our hiring histories.”

 

Rey threw a punch at the pad, sending him stumbling back slightly.  He recovered and widened his stance, waving her forward. Rey turned onto her right leg and sent a hard side kick into the middle of the pad

 

“He is more annoying than anything else,” she breathed. “He’s like a giant man toddler Gotta keep your eye on him. Can’t give him unsupervised galivanting privileges, but other than that…”

 

She stopped her onslaught of short punches when she noticed the look that Luke had fixed her with. She breathed in deep and dropped her hands.

 

“What, Luke?”

 

Luke made a defensive face and shook his head. “I didn’t say anything.”

 

“Yeah but you want to, and I’d rather not hear, “I told you so” even if you never really told me so.”

 

Luke sighed and dropped the matt.

 

“Look,” he said. “I just…I don’t understand what’s happening right now. You have killed so many demons without blinking.”

 

“No,” said Rey. “I have killed many vampires without blinking. Demons I take on a one-on-one basis. For Christ’s sake Luke, you had fucking D’Hoffryn over for a damn turkey dinner…”

 

“That was different,” he said. “That was to broker a peace deal, and avoid an apocalypse…the circumstances were different, as you well know.”

 

“Master Luke the circumstances are always different,” she said. “That’s the whole game isn’t it, figuring out which times the circumstances require me to kill and which ones they don’t. And in this circumstance he hasn’t killed anyone. He has a mother. He has a soul. He just wants to go home, and he…”  


“He’s a hunk,” asked Luke.

 

“Eww,” said Rey, flopping down to sit on the matt. “First, no one says that anymore Luke…and no…I don’t make decisions using my ovaries.”

 

“Good,” said Luke, with a nod, taking a seat next to Rey on the mat. “I’m fairly certain that’s why all the Slayers are women.”

 

Rey let out a small laugh and looked down at the tape peeling away from her knuckles.

 

“Rey,” said Luke, his voice growing softer. “I…I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you. You just…you…you mean a lot to me Rey.”

 

Rey felt a spark of warmth in her chest, replacing the growing annoyance.

 

Ugh, she thought. You’re so weak, Rey.  Give you the slightest amount of familial affection and BAM you turn into a puddle.

 

“You’re special,” he said.

 

Rey scoffed. “No I’m not. I’m the Slayer.  I’m on an assembly line, when I die there will be one just like me.”

 

“No,” said Luke, shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant. You…as in Rey. You’re special.” Rey swallowed hard and stared down at her hands, not wanting to look Luke in the eyes for fear it would betray her emotions. “I’ve seen a lot of Slayers, Rey. I’ve met more than I wish I had.  Most of them…they lose themselves in the Slayer role, they distance, and push away, and isolate. They aren’t bad girls, it’s just…it comes with the territory. But you…” he stopped and nudged her slightly. “You’ve kept your humanity in a way I’ve never seen. At the end of the day, you’re still Rey.  And you’re still very…very human.”  


Rey looked at Luke, finally; her question hanging in her eye.

 

“Luke,” she said. “I don’t…I don’t know any other way to be.”

 

“I know,” he said. “And I don’t want you to change. I don’t want you to lose that. But it just means you’ll have to be more careful than most. You have compassion and empathy and those are good things, but they can also get in the way of the work you have to do. And I don’t want…I don’t want it to destroy you.”

 

Rey nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear.  She forgot sometimes, how much she truly loved Luke, how much he had meant to her, how much he had given her. She had been lost, a starving street rat without a family until Luke took her off the streets, told her of the possible role she had to play in the world. But more than that he gave her a place to belong. If not for him, she never would have ended up in L.A. She never would have met Finn, Rose and Poe.   When she remembered those things, it made it hard for her to stay irritated with him.

 

“I know,” she said, softly. “I know you’re looking out for me, but, Luke…” she looked at him intently, and then past him toward the lobby. “I really don’t know how to explain it but…he needs me. He is all alone. And I know that feeling, it’s a shitty feeling.  And somehow I just feel it in my bones that I’m supposed to help him.”

 

Luke sighed heavily, but he nodded.

 

“Okay,” he said. “I trust you Rey. I just…I hope this goes the way you think.”  


Rey nodded and snaked her arm under Luke’s, holding his hand.  She laughed when she felt him tense.  Luke loved her, she knew that, but he wasn’t particularly warm or affectionate, and she could always feel his slight discomfort when she expressed her love for him.  But he indulged her all the same.

 

They sat in silence for a moment before Rey spoke again.

 

“But I really doesn’t hurt that he’s so fucking hot.”

 

Luke detached himself from her and threw her look of mock disgust.

 

“Get out of here,” he said shoving her aside. Rey laughed and stood up.

 

“What? You’re the one who thinks he’s a hunk!”

 

“I never said I thought he was…now get out of here.”

 

“Will do,” said Rey. “I’m going out with Rose tonight to celebrate her kicking her midterms ass.”

 

Luke nodded. “Good, I’m glad one of you is getting a proper education.”

 

Rey shrugged. “Yeah…Rose is the good one.”

 

“So true,” agreed Luke. “Where are you taking your toddler, demon-man?”

 

“He is going to stay with Poe and Finn tonight.”

 

“And they are amenable to that?”

 

“Yeah as long as he promised not to eat their cat.”


End file.
